Dark Apprentice
by padawan lynne
Summary: When Voldemort decides to take Harry Potter as his apprentice instead of killing him, the Wizarding World is in for a shock. Goodbye Harry Potter, hello Lord Raiden.
1. Chapter 1

**Dark Apprentice**

**Chapter One: The Beginning**

Voldemort smirked as he looked at the small house in Godric's Hollow, the home of the Potter family. He had been told part of a prophecy which led him to believe that the Potter' s young son, Harry if he remembered correctly, would be the Chosen One that was destined to defeat him. He was here to make sure that that never happened. After all, the young boy couldn't grow up to kill him if he died now, could he.

The Dark Lord walked up the path, feeling the Fidelius wards collapse as he passed through them. The front door yielded easily to the Alohomora spell and he walked in. James Potter rose to meet him, yelling for his wife to take their son and go, before sending a curse at Voldemort that was just barely legal. The Dark Lord smirked, obviously the Auror had been studying the Darker curses in an attempt to fight fire with fire. It was a pity that it wouldn't be enough.

After toying with James for a few minutes, Voldemort grew bored. A quick "Avada Kedavra!" and a flash of green light finished him off. The Dark Lord then turned round surveying the interior of the home with mild curiosity. A noise alerted him to the fact that Lily Potter was upstairs, no doubt trying to protect her son. Smirking again, he ascended the stairs, taking his time. There was no need to hurry and he wanted to savor the moment when he gained his immortality by killing the only person able to kill him.

Reaching the top of the landing, Voldemort looked in both directions, before a soft whimper caught his attention. Smiling in an evil fashion, because Dark Lords can't smile in any other way except evilly after all, he walked towards the nursery.

As he entered, Lily Potter placed herself protectively in front of the playpen where the one-and-a-half-year old Harry sat. The baby was quiet, not understanding the situation but trusting his Mummy not to let anything hurt him.

"Please, don't hurt him," Lily Potter pleaded.

Voldemort snorted. "Stand out of the way you silly girl, I don't want to kill you. He's the child of the Prophecy, I have to kill him."

"No please, not Harry, kill me, just leave my baby alone," Lily tried once again. Voldemort raised his wand and cast the Killing curse once more. As Lily Potter crumpled to the floor, dead, the baby finally made a sound.

Harry whimpered as the man said some funny words and then a flash of green light came out of the stick he held. His mother fell down and didn't move again. He didn't understand when he fell down his mummy always picked him up again. Why didn't she pick herself up? He moved closer and tried to touch his mother. He succeeded, and poked her briefly. Lily Potter didn't move, would never move again in fact. Harry looked around, that odd man was still there. He didn't like him at all.

It was then that Harry noticed his mother's wand lying near his pen. He slowly picked it up, normally he wasn't allowed to touch it but his mummy didn't seem to want it anymore. He picked it up and then pointed it at the weird man. Now, what did that odd man say that made his mummy fall down and not move?

Voldemort watched in detached amusement as Harry poked his mother, trying to make her wake up again. It was a pity to have to kill such a powerful child but really, the boy would be with his parents soon enough. He raised his wand, and watched as the toddler aimed Lily's wand at him. Almost lazily he said, "Avada Kedavra" and watched the green curse head towards the baby.

Expecting the curse to kill the infant, Voldemort had the shock of his life when the _unblockable _curse actually _bounced_ off of Harry's forehead and right back towards him. The Dark Lord quickly moved out of the way and stared at the infant in shock. If it hadn't been undignified, he would have been gaping like a goldfish.

Harry was not happy. The nasty man had cast the green light at him, and it had _hurt._ He pointed his mother's wand at the nasty man and tried to say what he had said.

"Abra Kedabra," he tried. Although it was a mangled version of the curse, it worked. Voldemort was shocked again, and didn't move fast enough as the curse hit him. The last thing he felt was pain, all consuming pain as he was ripped out of his body.

The house exploded around them, with debris being thrown in all directions as Harry's wails of fear and pain echoed into the quietness of the night. Voldemort fled, vowing to keep a close eye on the young Potter in the future.

**Author Note**

**The second time I've posted this story, hopefully it won't be deleted again. Thank you to those who reviewed the first time, I hope you still like this story. **

**May the Force be with you**

**Padawan Lynne**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: The Offer and the First Lesson**

It was now seven years later and eight year old Harry Potter was lying outside on the lawn nursing bruised ribs from where Dudley had punched him, and doing his homework for school. Harry was an intelligent boy, much more so than his cousin, but he had to hide his intelligence because Vernon and Petunia would hurt him if he showed that he was smarter than their precious Duddykins. To that end, he had enlisted his teacher's help in the matter. One day, seeking a refuge from Dudley and his gang he had gone to his teacher, whose name was Miss Rose and told her about the situation at his home.

Miss Rose was shocked and initially tried to get Harry to tell the police, but Harry wouldn't. He said that when he got older he could leave but for now he had to stay. Miss Rose was upset at this but asked how she could help. Harry had quickly outlined his plan. Miss Rose would make two report cards for him. One carried his real grades and was filed with the school records. The other was the fake one, the one that Harry took home to the Dursleys. It was hard, having to pretend to be dumber than Dudley, but Harry took pride in knowing that for every D and E on his report card that he showed his relatives, there was an A or B on his real one at the school. Miss Rose had merely swapped letters, so a D on the fake was really an A and an E was in reality a B. The Dursleys insulted Harry upon seeing the card, not knowing how he had manipulated the situation.

Harry frowned as he tried to breathe again, something was wrong with at least one of his ribs he knew it. It was then that he heard the familiar hissing from the long patch of grass near where he was lying.

Voldemort had watched his young nemesis for a while now, and had grown angrier and angrier at the way the Muggles treated him. Upon the discovery of Harry's Parseltongue ability, discovered when Harry had had a lengthy conversation with a grass snake one morning, he had switched to possessing snakes almost exclusively so he could communicate with Harry. Over time, he had forgotten his original view of Harry and had thought up a plan for gaining the young boy's trust, with the intention of making him his apprentice. It had been Voldemort who had suggested that Harry to tell his teacher about the Dursleys, but Harry had thought up the report scheme all on his own making the Dark Lord very proud.

Voldemort smirked to himself, if the boy accepted his offer then he would make a promising Slytherin, and wouldn't that shock the Wizarding World. The Savior of the Wizarding World in Slytherin. He could almost hear the screams of outrage now. In order to make the boy his apprentice though, he needed to properly introduce himself, which he couldn't do as a snake.

Concentrating hard, he created an image of how he used to look before Harry reduced him to a malignant mist and slowly moved from the snake that he had inhabited. Harry watched in shock and confusion as a mist seemed to rise from the snake and coalesce into the form of a tall man with red eyes. As Harry looked on, the man, who Harry noticed was almost see-through, stretched and moved around a bit before looking straight at him.

"Hello Harry" the man said softly.

"Er, hello. Who are you?" Harry responded, wondering who this stranger was.

"I used to be called Tom Riddle but I changed my name to Lord Voldemort," the man replied. Harry nodded his head.

"OK. I'm Harry Potter, but how do you know my name?"

Voldemort chuckled. "I have been watching you for a while now, Harry. I have a question for you. Do you believe in magic?"

Harry frowned. "My uncle said that magic doesn't exist" he said hesitantly. This brought a snort from his new friend.

"Your uncle says other things that are untrue, why wouldn't he lie about the existence of magic?"

"Um, okay. Why did you ask me that?"

Voldemort sat down beside the small boy, even though he was floating a few inches off the ground. "Because Harry, all those odd things that keep happening around you, all those things that you can't explain, they're magic. You, Harry, are a wizard."

Harry gaped at Voldemort, his head spinning. Finally he thought about all the times he had made unexplainable things happen, and a smile slowly crept over his face. Finally he asked, "Are you a wizard too?"

Voldemort nodded. "Yes or at least I was. I'm currently not dead, but not fully alive either. Don't worry about that at the moment, just know that I can help you learn to control and use your magic."

"You can help me control my magic?" Harry asked.

Voldemort nodded again. "Yes I can. Do you want to learn?"

"So I'd be your apprentice or something like that?"

Voldemort restrained himself from rolling his eyes and reminded himself that Harry was still a young child and needed things to be spelt out for him.

"Yes. You would be my apprentice, and before you ask what you call me, it's Master, or my Lord."

"Okay, Master" Harry said brightly, excited at the chance to learn to control the odd happenings and stop them from occurring, or else do them purposefully. Voldemort smiled, and thought to himself, 'He's mine now, and I can slowly turn him to the Dark. Oh Dumbledore you won't know what hit you.'

He noticed Harry waiting patiently and floated closer to him, frowning when his new apprentice winced in pain. "Harry?" he asked, slightly concerned. Normally Dark Lords didn't do concern, or any other emotion save anger or hatred but he couldn't teach Harry if the child was in pain whenever he was near him. Also, he found that he didn't want to be angry or annoyed around Harry, he needed someone with whom he could let down his mask of the fearsome Dark Lord and just be himself. Even if his self was not too far removed from his Dark Lord persona.

"My scar hurts" Harry said. "Why does it hurt?" Voldemort considered the question.

"It may hurt because of how you got it. What do you know of how your parents died?"

Harry scowled. "Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia said that they died in a car crash. Did they lie about that too?"

Voldemort nodded. "Yes they did. Do you know how your parents died?"

Harry shook his head. "No, Master. I sometimes have nightmares where there's a bright flash of green light and a scream but nothing else. What's wrong?" he finished, noting that his new master seemed annoyed.

Voldemort was not annoyed with Harry, but with himself. He hadn't thought that Harry might remember his parents' deaths. 'This could make things difficult, how the hell do I explain this without turning him completely against me' the Dark Lord thought to himself. After a few minutes he hit upon a brilliant idea.

"Nothing's wrong Harry, I was just thinking," he replied. "Now, do you want to know how your parents died?"

"Yes. I also want to know how you ended up as a ghost," Harry responded immediately, hungry for the truth that had been kept from him by the Dursleys.

"They are interconnected," Voldemort began slowly, working out how best to tell the story. He decided to start with a bit of background on the Wizarding World so his apprentice wouldn't be confused.

"There is a school in Scotland, a magic school, called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. All magical children in Britain go to Hogwarts when they turn eleven. The school is run by an old wizard called Albus Dumbledore. Now, there are several groups of wizards and witches within the magical world. One group is the purebloods, those who have only wizards and witches in their family. The second group is the half-bloods, which you and I are. We have usually one Muggle parent and one magical parent. In your case you had two magical parents but your mother was a Muggle-born and you have muggles in your family tree from her side. The third group is Muggle-borns, those who are magical but whose parents are both Muggles. The last group is Squibs and they are the opposite of Muggle-borns, their parents are magical but they aren't."

"What are Muggles?" Harry asked. Voldemort frowned at being interrupted and lightly ran a ghostly finger down Harry's scar. The eight-year-old winced but held still, figuring that it was his master's way of punishing him for interrupting. He was right but Voldemort also wanted to know how close he could get to Harry before he caused him pain. It would be no good if he got his body back only to have to stay a certain distance away from his apprentice. Shaking himself out of his thoughts he continued the brief lesson on the magical world.

"Muggles, my young apprentice, are people with no magic in them, people like your relatives. Now, how this relates to the war is very simple. Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts, is the leader of the "Light" side. He believes that Muggle-borns should be allowed in the magical world, he thinks that if Muggles discover that we exist that they will accept us and everything will be good. You and I know different. You only have to look at your relatives to know that his idea is wrong. Also, allowing Muggle-borns to marry into wizarding families weakens the magic, dilutes it. The magic within witches and wizards is growing weaker with every generation as more and more Muggleborns enter our world. Now, a certain amount of new blood must be brought in every generation or so to prevent inbreeding but not to the extent that Dumbledore would have. Because I didn't have the same ideas as Dumbledore, he labeled me Dark and evil. My followers and I started the war to try and stop our world from being found out by the Muggles."

"Did you kill people?" Harry asked, not frightened in the least. Voldemort looked at him, wondering if he should be removing Harry's innocence at such a young age. Then he reminded himself that Harry needed to get used to the idea of torture and death if he was to make any sort of halfway decent Dark Lord when he was older.

He nodded. "Yes I did. My followers, the Death Eaters did most of the torture and killing, I only killed when people attacked me personally, or none of my Death Eaters could do the job." He left out the fact that the torture included rape and mutilation of children as well as adults; he didn't want to totally ruin the child's view of him. That could come later, once his apprentice had grown up a bit, maybe when he was fourteen or fifteen.

"OK so Dumbledore didn't agree with you, he called you evil and there was a war that killed my parents. Or rather, you killed them. Did they not agree with you?" Harry asked.

Voldemort smirked. "As I have already explained, Harry, I tried to get them to see reason, but they were too close to Dumbledore. He had brainwashed them into only being able to see his point of view."

"How did he brainwash them?" Harry questioned.

"By using a special magic that I'll teach you when you're older. I'll teach you how to defend against Dumbledore's abilities so he doesn't brainwash you, and I'll also teach you how to do what he can. That's for when you're older though, so don't think about it at the moment."

Harry nodded and then said, "Yes Master." He was slightly disappointed but realized that his master couldn't teach him everything at once. Seeing Voldemort looking at him intently he straightened so he wasn't slouching.

Just then Petunia walked out the front door, heading for the car. She didn't see Voldemort, which puzzled Harry until he thought that maybe only he could see the Dark Lord. When she had gone he looked inquiringly at Voldemort.

"Yes Harry, only you can see and hear me unless I want others to see or hear me. I'm your own personal ghost, until I get my body back that is."

"I'll help you get it back, Master" Harry said earnestly.

Voldemort laughed, not an evil laugh but a genuine one, which he hadn't done for a long time. "Yes you will Harry. Not for a while though, maybe a few years. I can wait that long. For now though, do you want your first lesson in using your magic?"

"Yes!" Harry exclaimed. Voldemort smirked.

"OK. What I want you to do is sit still, close your eyes and breathe slowly, in and out, in and out. Can you do that?"

Harry responded by doing exactly what Voldemort had said. It was difficult for him at first, seeing that he was only eight but he didn't want to fail his first lesson, nor disappoint his mentor so he did the best he could. The Dark Lord was looking intently at him, rather surprised at how well he was doing. Most eight year olds wouldn't have been able to do it.

Speaking softly so he didn't break Harry's concentration, Voldemort said, "Now Harry, I want you to think of nothing. I want you to concentrate only on your breathing. Your mind should be clear and blank." He waited a few minutes before asking, "Is your mind clear?"

"I think so Master. I see nothing but white, with random thoughts floating around," Harry answered, puzzled. Voldemort nodded.

"That's good Harry. I want you to go inwards, keeping your mind clear. You should see a small ball of light inside you. When you've found it I want you to go to it."

Harry followed the instructions but it was hard. He had no idea how he was supposed to "go inwards" but focused on finding the small ball of light. He squeaked when he found it and only just managed to keep his concentration. He heard, as if from a great distance, his master telling him to go into the light, to wrap himself in it.

Voldemort was shocked. He knew when Harry had found his core, both from the startled squeak his apprentice had emitted, and also from the soft yet noticeable glow that spread around him so that he appeared to be encased in a glowing shield.

'He will be powerful indeed. I am so glad I came up with this idea, I definitely do not want him as my enemy' Voldemort thought to himself. He jerked himself out of his plans for Harry's future and spoke again, keeping his voice soft, with a slight hissing to it that sounded oddly hypnotic and soothing.

"OK, Harry that's very good. Now I want you to come back. Just come back out of the light and back to me." He waited until Harry's eyes opened and then smiled.

"Very well done, Harry. Very well done indeed. That was your magical core, that ball of light. It will grow as you do, so don't worry about it being small at the moment." He broke off as he saw that Harry looked almost as if he was bouncing up and down on the spot.

"But Master, it wasn't small, well not really small. It was about the size of a soccer ball, about this big," Harry said, indicating the size with his hands.

Voldemort was shocked speechless; generally speaking Harry's core should be about the size of a golf ball at his present age. Shaking his head he said, "That's interesting Harry. Can you go back to your core like you did just now?"

Harry nodded and did so. He wasn't yet practiced enough to fall immediately into a trance, it was only his second time after all but in the end he found it. Looking up at his master, his eyes glowing a bit, he asked, "Now what?"

"Now, Harry, you draw out a little bit of magic, just a little bit, like a thread, and your first lesson will be in healing. Direct that small thread to where your injuries are and imagine them being healed and not sore."

He sat back and watched as Harry frowned and followed the instructions. After a while, as Harry had had to resurface out of the trance and go back in a few times when he lost control of the magic, the bruises were gone and the cracked rib looked to be, if not fully healed then at least healed enough to not pose a danger to Harry's lung."

Harry opened his eyes and gazed at Voldemort. The Dark Lord looked back neutrally. In a tired voice Harry asked, "I think I did it. My side still feels funny."

"It will, as it's not fully mended yet. You can do that tomorrow though. For now rest, you did very well. All your bruises are gone and the rest can be dealt with later. Sleep."

"Can't. Dudley and Uncle Vernon will be home soon," Harry mumbled. He really wanted to sleep but feared his Uncle's wrath if he was caught.

"Leave them to me. Just go to your room and rest Harry, you can't learn magic, or ordinary schoolwork if you're dead tired." He watched as Harry got up, and stumbled inside, carrying his schoolwork with him. Curious, Voldemort floated through the wall, the wards that Dumbledore had put in place having no effect on him as he didn't mean Harry any harm. When he saw what Harry called his bedroom, the Dark Lord vowed to find a way of removing Harry from the Muggles as soon as humanly possible. He seethed, and looked forward to scaring the life out of Harry's relatives. No one hurt Lord Voldemort's apprentice and got away with it. He mourned the loss of his wand; he really wanted to do a few Crucios right now. Shaking his head he saw the cupboard door close and soon soft snores began. Smirking, the invisible Dark Lord floated right in front of it, guarding his young apprentice from any harm the Muggles might wish to inflict.


	3. Chapter 3

**Ok people, a bit of a time jump here again. I couldn't do much with Harry's training, as it was mainly repetitive and boring so I cut it out. I'll do my best to describe it in later chapters though. Oh and Harry will be called Raiden from now on, although all characters who don't know about his new name will still call him Harry. This means pretty much everyone except for Voldemort at present.**

_Blah = _mind speech.

'blah' = thoughts

'**blah' **= parseltongue

**Chapter Three: Letters and Diagon Alley**

Harry was sitting down in the park behind a group of trees, his eyes closed. The young wizard was meditating, focusing on healing his latest batch of bruises from Dudley and his gang. Although his master had frightened the Dursleys witless by appearing in front of them and promising to kill them if they harmed Harry again, (not bothering to tell them that he actually couldn't), the two elder Dursleys had left him alone while turning a blind eye to what Dudley was doing. Voldemort couldn't do much about this, but he encouraged Harry's hatred of the whole family, promising him that when the time came, he would be allowed to have revenge. Thus, Harry got a lot better at self-healing very quickly.

His other magic lessons included building mental shields, which Voldemort told him was called Occlumency. He then had to explain Legilimency when Harry told him that he was picking up on other people's thoughts. Apparently his early training in magic had awoken latent talents in the young savior that should have remained dormant until he was older. Harry had spent several weeks strengthening his shields to block out the oppressive weight of the thoughts that people around him were unconsciously broadcasting, and then had fun practicing Legilimency on his classmates. Most of his practice came at the expense of the Dursleys though.

Finished with his meditation, Harry opened his eyes. He had grown over the past two years since he had become Voldemort's apprentice. He had managed to scare Vernon and Petunia into giving him a proper amount of food so he was the proper height and weight for his age, as well as being quite fit due to the martial arts lessons that he'd been forced to take along with Dudley. The fat whale had complained about the hardness of the exercises and promptly dropped the lessons after two weeks. A bit of manipulation by Harry ensured that he could continue them and he thoroughly enjoyed himself. After two years he was about mid-way through the rankings, and his teacher was thrilled with the dedication he showed to learning everything properly. It didn't hurt that the training helped Harry to avoid the worst of the beatings that Dudley liked to try and inflict. He still ended up with bruises but not so many.

Harry stretched and rose, working out the kinks in his back and knees from sitting still for so long. He could now meditate for several hours on end although the average length was an hour. Extending his magic like Voldemort had taught him, Harry was able to sense that there were no people near him and he emerged from behind the bush.

Voldemort smirked from where he was watching. He had spent some time away from his apprentice, using the time to research ways of getting his body back, but he found that he was happy to be back around Harry. Having someone voluntarily spend time with him who wasn't afraid of him or trying to kill him used to be unfamiliar to the Dark Lord, but he liked the change. He also liked the direction that Harry's thoughts were going with regard to his future Dark Lord training. The amount of anger the boy was harboring towards his relatives was growing daily, and Voldemort fed this as much as possible. Only one thing concerned him, Harry's anger was directed solely at the Dursleys, he didn't seem able, or willing, to extend it to all Muggles.

"Harry," he said, appearing from thin air behind the wizard. Harry jumped; he really hated it when his master did that. It wasn't fair that Voldemort could shock the life out of him by disappearing and reappearing the way he did.

"Yes Master," he replied, the annoyance coming through clearly in his voice.

Voldemort frowned. Reaching out a hand, he brushed Harry's scar, producing a satisfying wince from his apprentice. "Watch your tone apprentice, if I had my wand you would be in a lot of pain right now."

"Why," Harry questioned. He knew that he was pushing it slightly, knew that Voldemort was still a Dark Lord and therefore quite capable of hurting him should he want to, but he was still annoyed at his master.

"Because I would not be above using the Cruciatus curse on you if I could do so at the moment. What's got you so annoyed anyway?"

Harry blinked at the answer, and decided to back down a bit. Voldemort had explained the Unforgivable curses, telling him that he wouldn't be able to cast any of them until he was older, and he didn't want to experience the Cruciatus curse anyway.

"I'm annoyed, Master, because you keep popping out of thin air and scaring me half to death. I can't sense you like I can everyone else and that makes me nervous."

"Hmm. Alright, I'll work out a way of letting you sense me without causing you any pain in your scar. For now, I came to tell you that I'm leaving again for a while, and I probably won't see you until you start Hogwarts. I need you to do two things for me while I'm gone."

"OK. What?"

Voldemort blinked, he had expected a bit more of a debate. He supposed that Harry didn't like the threat he'd made, which was the whole point of making it but the lack of debate was still surprising. The threat hadn't been an idle one, and Harry knew it, so maybe that was why his apprentice hadn't argued further. Returning his attention to Harry he saw that the boy was looking at him with curiosity, and a hint of worry.

"What's wrong?" the Dark Lord asked.

Harry shrugged. "Nothing much, just thinking about how I'm going to know it's you when I see you again" he replied.

Voldemort snorted. "You'll know it's me, idiot, because your scar will react. I know I've tweaked our connection so it doesn't, but I'll make it react so you'll know it's me and then it will go back to normal."

Harry blinked. "OK. So I'll see you at Hogwarts then. What about Dumbledore?"

"Leave him to me. Make sure you have your shields up at maximum around him though, but keep your fake mind at the front. We don't need him wondering how an eleven-year-old wizard can create mind shields with the strength that yours have. Now, I need to tell you the two things to do before I have to leave."

Harry nodded; his fake mind was simply layering all his miscellaneous thoughts outside his shields and keeping the shields on low alert, so that no one who was looking would encounter them. He looked quizzically at his mentor, inviting him to give Harry his tasks.

"Firstly I want you to continue working on your magic. Work on your levitation and invisibility, along with summoning and banishing objects. Also keep up Occlumency and Legilimency. Apart from that just keep in mind the fact that when you get your wand, it doesn't mean that you have to lose the wandless magic. Wandless magic is almost a lost art, and having this ability can only help you. The second thing I want you to do is start thinking of a name."

"A name, Master?" Harry asked, confused.

Voldemort nodded. "You remember that my name used to be Tom Riddle?" he said. Seeing Harry's nod he continued, "I changed my name to Voldemort because Lord Riddle didn't sound very intimidating, and it has a hidden meaning as well."

"What meaning?" Harry questioned.

Voldemort smirked and Harry groaned. That smirk meant one thing and one thing only. "Research, my apprentice, research. If I tell you its French it should help you at the library. My point is that Lord Potter doesn't sound intimidating either. That and because of your status as the "Boy Who Lived", if there was even a hint that you were going Dark, you would be thrown in jail before you could say "Stop". However, if you created a new name, when the time comes to reveal the existence of Lord Voldemort's apprentice, no one will know it's you."

"Brilliant. So, Harry Potter will be my name in public, but to you and me, and eventually your followers, I'll be Lord, whatever I choose my name to be."

Voldemort nodded. "Precisely Harry. Also, in a few years, I'll make a grand reappearance and start working to strengthen the Wizarding World again. This should cause the public to start clamoring for you to "defeat" me. What a shock it will be for Dumbledore when you side with me. His "Savior" going Dark, what a pity."

Harry smirked. "Yes Master. However, could we also do something else with that idea?"

"What?" Voldemort queried. He was curious to see what Harry's devious Slytherin mind could come up with. He wasn't disappointed.

"When you make your reappearance, you let it be known that you have an apprentice, but nothing else about them. Everyone will panic trying to find out who it is. I can continue at Hogwarts, helping to gather followers, and strengthening our numbers for when we reveal our plans for the magical world. No one will suspect me, as I will supposedly be their "Savior" and meant to destroy you. Therefore, I can undermine Dumbledore's efforts to stop you from inside."

"The ultimate spy," Voldemort said. Master and Apprentice smirked at each other before Voldemort rose.

"Good. I like this plan but remember that plans are not set in stone and need to be flexible and able to change as situations change. Think of a name. When we meet again, tell me what it is, and also tell me if you discovered what my name means. I'll see you at Hogwarts."

So saying, Voldemort vanished into thin air again, causing Harry to huff in frustration. He walked out of the park and towards the library. He needed to start work on his tasks. His eleventh birthday was only a few short weeks away.

Slipping into the library, he greeted the librarian with a smile. The people of Little Whinging didn't believe the Dursleys for the most part. They were still a little wary but that was because Harry himself was wary of them. He didn't trust adults too much, the only one he really trusted was Voldemort, and that was because the Dark Lord had never lied to him. He might have withheld information due to Harry's age but never had he lied to him. Slipping into the section on languages, Harry moved to the French section.

After two hours, and much frustration, Harry finally had his answer. Voldemort meant "flight of death" or "flight from death" depending on how you translated it. Snorting to himself Harry murmured, "Why would he call himself that unless, no. Is his greatest fear death? That would explain why he took those precautions that he won't tell me about yet. Now, what about a name for me?"

Harry switched sections, finding a book on mythology. He had liked the shape of his scar ever since he knew about it. It was a cool shape he thought. Unconsciously, he looked for names pertaining to lightning. After another hour, he had come up with one name that he liked.

"Raiden," he murmured. "Lord Raiden. Yes, that works. Brilliant. Lord Raiden, Apprentice of Lord Voldemort. Watch out Wizarding World, here we come."

A few weeks later Harry or rather, Raiden, was waiting for the mail. Although the Dursleys hadn't acknowledged it, today was his eleventh birthday and he was expecting the arrival of his Hogwarts letter. Sure enough, when the mail came through the slot on the door, the Hogwarts letter came with it. Raiden picked up the letter and tucked it in the waistband of his trousers, making sure that his shirt covered it. With the precious letter safely secured he took the rest of the mail in to his relatives.

Breakfast passed in silence, with Raiden eating quickly lest Dudley or Vernon take what was left on his plate. Once he'd finished, he rose and took the dishes into the kitchen, washing them rapidly before leaving them to dry in the rack. He then walked calmly into the living room.

"Uncle Vernon, I need to go to London," he said. Vernon looked up at his nephew. Privately he was rather afraid of him, as he feared what his unwelcome relative might do if he was provoked enough. He scowled at Raiden's request.

"Why," he snapped. Raiden withdrew the letter from his pants, keeping it carefully out of Vernon's reach. He let his uncle see the green writing, and the seal on the back before enjoying the sight of his uncle's face going from red, to white, to sickly green. Petunia, who came in to see what was wrong, seemed especially scared and angry at the letter's appearance.

"You haven't said why you want to go to London," Vernon said, huffing slightly.

Raiden smirked and narrowed his eyes. "It's obvious isn't it Uncle? I need to get my school supplies."

"You're not going to that freaky school so you don't need to go to London," Vernon said triumphantly.

Raiden scowled and raised his hand. Concentrating on what he wanted, he levitated Vernon out of his chair and spun him in a circle, before tipping him upside down and repeating the circular spin. When Vernon was deposited back in his chair he looked sick and fearful.

"All right, all right. We'll take you to London. Just don't let anyone see you bringing that _stuff_ back with you."

Raiden smirked. "Of course Uncle Vernon, you're very kind," he said smoothly. Vernon snorted but made no other comment. Petunia and Dudley had been cowering in their seats at Raiden's display of magic and did nothing to impede his progress out of the lounge.

Reaching his cupboard, the young Dark-Lord-in-training growled. The next thing on his list of things to change about his living situation was to somehow manipulate the Dursleys into giving him Dudley's second bedroom. Still, the most important thing was getting his school things so he hurried out the door when he heard Vernon yell that they were leaving.

After a tense car trip, Raiden was in London. Voldemort had been very explicit in his instructions as to which street the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron, which was the gateway to Diagon Alley, was on. Raiden found it without any trouble, as it was on one of the main streets. He took a breath; firmly fixed his "don't mess with me or I'll hurt you" mask on his face and stepped inside.

Instantly, all talk stopped. The witches and wizards inside recognized him as a gust of wind had revealed his scar, and his black hair and green eyes were distinctive anyway. The crowd surged round him variations of "Welcome back Mr Potter," coming at him from all angles. Finally he got tired of the throng and snapped,

"Can you all please back off and give me some room. I'm here to buy my things for Hogwarts, not to entertain you lot. I can't breathe with all of you around me!"

Looking shocked, the crowd backed off, allowing Raiden unmolested passage to the back of the pub. Unnoticed, Professor Quirrell, who was Defence against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts moved up beside him.

Raiden turned upon sensing the man's presence. Inclining his head he asked, "I don't believe we've been introduced. Who are you?"

"P Professor Q Quirrell" the man stuttered. Raiden frowned as his scar reacted. He swept his eyes round the area to discover only him and the Professor. His scar reacted again and he narrowed his eyes.

"Very clever, Master, to possess a teacher. Now what do I do," he muttered. He jumped when a voice whispered from the turban, "Get your supplies. We can talk at Hogwarts,"

Shrugging, Raiden stood back and allowed Quirrell to tap the bricks that would open the wall. Smiling, he memorized the pattern, in case he needed to get back in on his own sometime. The wall opened and Raiden stepped into Diagon Alley for the first time.

'Right, first things first. I need to go to Gringotts.' Smoothly, he weaved his way up the street, avoiding the throngs of people who were shopping as well. Most of them didn't go near him, as he was unconsciously projecting his aura which clearly said 'Stay away.' Reaching Gringotts he slipped inside, walking up to the nearest teller.

"May I see my vault please?" he asked politely.

The goblin frowned at him, before asking, "Do you have your key?"

Raiden shook his head. "No sir. I don't know who has it, but I want it back if possible. Is there only the one key?"

The goblin looked a bit perplexed. "Yes there is only one key Mr, er,"

"Sorry sir, my name's Harry Potter."

Raiden expected the goblin to be shocked but all he received was a calculating look. "Mr Potter. Very well. I can look up who has your key and then use the Gringotts summoning charm to reclaim it for you. Hold on."

"Summoning charm?" Raiden asked.

The goblin looked annoyed briefly but explained, "All Gringott's keys have an automatic summoning charm that we can activate if a client loses their key or it is otherwise stolen from them. You obviously didn't have your key in your possession which is most irregular. Now, the key should be arriving any moment. Ah there it is."

A small golden key appeared on the desk, along with a slip of paper. The goblin frowned. "Hmm, it would appear that a Mr Albus Dumbledore has been in possession of your key. Nevertheless, the key is yours and he will not be able to touch it without your explicit permission if you put a drop of your blood on it."

Raiden raised an eyebrow but did as requested, seeing the glow fade around the key as the blood was absorbed into it. He reached forward and picked it up, smiling as he felt the small weight in his hand. Closing his fist around it, he smiled at the goblin.

"Thank you sir. May I visit my vault now?"

The goblin returned the smile, showing two rows of sharp teeth. "Yes, Mr Potter you may. I'll have Griphook take you down to the vault. You may withdraw as much as you wish, as the vault is actually your trust fund, set up by your parents before you were born. Your vault will automatically refill up the specified amount from your family vault which you will gain access to upon your seventeenth birthday. Have a good day."

"You too sir," Raiden replied before heading over to meet the goblin that the teller had waved over. He followed Griphook to the carts and got in one. The ride down to the vault felt like a muggle roller coaster and Raiden thoroughly enjoyed it. He walked up to the vault as it opened and stared in shock at the amount of money inside.

"Wow," he breathed. He forgot for the moment who he was, forgot that he was a Dark-Lord-in-training, and just allowed himself to be an eleven-year-old boy with a lot of unexpected wealth. Busying himself, he grabbed a bag that lay just inside the vault and filled it with several handfuls of Galleons, several handfuls of Sickles and several handfuls of Knuts. Figuring that he would have enough for both his shopping and for the term, and knowing that he could come back afterwards if he needed more spending money, Raiden exited the vault and rode back up to the surface.

Upon leaving the bank he stopped and though for a minute. 'Right. I have money. Now I need a wand. I'll need to have a wand with me from now on. Where did Voldemort say was good for wands? Ollivanders that's it.'

He spied the wand shop up the street and headed for it briskly. He stepped inside, hearing the bell announce his arrival. Scanning the shop he spotted Ollivander hiding in the corner. He smirked and said, "You might as well come out, I can sense you there."

"Now how did you do that Mr Potter? Not many can sense me when I stay there; coming out of the shadows like I normally do is part of the experience of getting your wand. Never mind, I don't want to know. Which is your wand hand?"

Raiden studied the old wand maker before answering cautiously, "I'm ambidextrous but I use my right hand more than my left on average. Why do you want to know?"

"Some wands work better for right handers, and some for left. No one quite knows why, they just do. Try this one."

Raiden took the wand, feeling the wrongness straight away. He waved it anyway, curious to see the effect. He grinned when the counter exploded as a result. Ollivander snatched the wand away from him, repairing his counter with a wave of his own wand at the same time.

"Beech and dragon heartstring, ten inches," he said, giving another wand to Raiden. He took it, feeling this wand's wrongness as well. Shrugging he waved it around. The shelves on the far side of the store blew out; dropping the wands they held onto the floor. Ollivander looked a bit miffed but as the pile of failed wands grew higher and higher he seemed to brighten up a bit.

"Tricky customer, I like those. Now," he paused, looking hard at Raiden, and more particularly his scar. Moving slowly, he held out a final wand. Raiden reached out and took it, feeling his magic react in way that he liked. It was warm, inviting. The wand's magic fused with his own, making the wand his, and his alone. No one else would now be able to use it.

Paying for the wand, which he learnt was the brother of Voldemort's wand as well as an arm holster which would allow him to draw his wand by flexing his wrist, he exited the shop and headed for the trunk store. There he bought a trunk with several compartments. Unlike most Hogwarts students, he would need the extra space for the extra things he planned on bringing with him.

Smiling, he paid for the trunk, and took it out of the shop. He had paid extra to have his trunk shrink and enlarge upon hearing the command word. He smirked, and then quietly hissed **Shrink **in parseltongue. Having the command words be in a language only he and his master could speak was very helpful he thought. Grinning, he headed for his next stop, the bookstore.

After buying all his first year books, as well as a few others that looked interesting, such as _Hogwarts: A History _and books like _The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts_, and_ Finding_ _Your Inner Animal: A Guide to becoming an Animagus_. He didn't think that he could do the Animagus spell yet, but it would be useful for if he ever decided to attempt it. After buying another few books on the recent history and political make-up of the wizarding world he left. The books were all in the second compartment of his trunk.

He walked past the Quidditch shop, only vaguely interested in the new broom in the window. He was more interested in the robe shop, Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions. Stepping inside he saw a pale boy, with white-blond hair and a slightly pointed face being fitted for robes as well. Shrugging, he moved to another assistant and stepped up onto the stool next to the other boy.

"Hullo," the boy said. Raiden nodded a greeting back, watching his robes take shape around him. He looked up as the boy asked, "You going to Hogwarts too?"

"Yes," Raiden answered. Then, feeling that he might as well make friends, he held out his hand. "I'm Harry Potter, but please ignore the stupid fame. It's a load of crap."

The boy shook his hand, gripping it firmly. "Harry Potter huh. My father mentioned that you were my age but I didn't expect to meet you so soon. My name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy. Do you know what house you're going to be in yet?"

Raiden shrugged. "I don't know that yet, Draco, but I'm hoping for Slytherin."

"Slytherin!" came the shocked exclamation.

Raiden frowned. "Yes, Slytherin. I've heard that it's the house for those with ambition and cunning, both of which I have in abundance. I know my parents were Gryffindors, and I know what happened to them. I also know that they would be proud of me no matter what house I'm in. I am not my parents."

Draco held up his hands. "Whoa, Harry, I was just surprised. I think you'd do well in Slytherin. That's where I'm hoping to go as well. You do know that the Wizarding World expects you to be a Gryffindor don't you?"

Raiden smirked. "Then they'll be shocked won't they. Are we friends?"

Draco gave him a calculating look. "I'd like that, if you're agreeable that is. I think the next seven years are going to be interesting."

"You can say that again," Raiden agreed. Just then their robes were finished and they paid for them before leaving. Just outside, they stopped and Draco turned to his new friend.

"Um, I'm supposed to meet my father in the pet shop, he said he'd buy me an owl for my birthday. Do you want to meet him?"

Raiden shrugged. "OK. Er, why do you want an owl?"

Draco gave him a weird look. "They carry the post and they're the most intelligent of the animals we're allowed to bring to Hogwarts." Giving Raiden another sideways look, he led the way to Eyelops Owl Emporium. Walking in, the two boys found a man that looked almost exactly like an elder version of Draco looking at the various breeds of owl that were available. He turned as they entered, and his eyes landed on Draco, before shifting to Raiden.

Raiden drew himself up, remembering Voldemort telling him that this man was his right hand man and that they had planned for Lucius to escape Azkaban by pleading being under the influence of the Imperius should anything happen to the Dark Lord. Voldemort needed him sane so allowed him to have that contingency plan in place.

"Father this is my new friend, Harry Potter," Draco said eagerly.

Lucius' eyes widened, before settling on the scar and then looking directly into Raiden's eyes. Inclining his head he said smoothly, "Mr Potter, it is a pleasure to meet you. Are you looking forward to attending Hogwarts?"

Raiden raised his eyebrows and then bowed slightly. "Mr Malfoy, it's an honor to meet you as well. Yes I'm looking forward to Hogwarts. As I told Draco, I'm particularly looking forward to shocking the Wizarding World by going into Slytherin House."

The former Death Eater's eyes widened again. "Slytherin, Mr Potter. How unusual. Your parents were Gryffindors."

"Yes they were sir; however, I am not my parents. And, having to live with the disgusting excuses for Muggles who call themselves my relatives gave me plenty of opportunity for practicing manipulation and trickery."

"Of course. Do you want to accompany us while we finish our shopping? We could help you deal with the, ah, undesirable elements while you finish your business."

Raiden smiled coldly. "I assume you're talking about the impressionable idiots outside? Yes I'd like that. What do you still have to get?"

Draco broke in at that point, casting an impatient look at his father for monopolizing his new friend. "Only the apothecary and here. How about you?"

"The same. Shall we?"

Draco nodded and the two began looking at the owls. Raiden was drawn to one in particular, a large black hawk owl that glared fiercely at anyone and everyone, except him. The two locked gazes and then the owl hooted regally and flew to Raiden's shoulder. The shopkeeper stuttered as the owl that never chose anyone and was almost half-wild sat calmly on the shoulder of the Boy-Who-Lived. A glare from said boy shut him up and he rang up the prices for Raiden and then for Draco. Once both owls had been bought, including cages and treats, the two future Slytherins exited the shop and headed for the apothecary.

They spent a good amount of time browsing the shop, getting their supplies for school, as well as extras of all the ingredients, it never hurt to be prepared in case of accidents. Also, several other cauldrons in pewter, silver and gold were purchased, in several sizes for later years.

Once all the purchases had been made the three stood in the Alley. Raiden looked uncertainly at Draco and Lucius. "I suppose I should be getting back, my Uncle," he sneered the word, "will be waiting for me. I'll write when I get my stuff sorted."

"OK Harry" Draco responded. "Will you be OK with the Muggles?"

Raiden smirked. "They haven't been too bad to me; I managed to scare them into submission. Besides, I can always manipulate them, they're really stupid."

"Take care of yourself Mr Potter, I wish to be able to meet you again in the future. I feel that you and Draco are going to be good friends."

Raiden nodded and then replied, "I will Mr Malfoy. Draco, expect a letter from me soon. Where do you live?"

Draco chuckled. "Just address the letter to me and your owl will find me. I'll do the same. See you at Hogwarts."

Raiden nodded again before turning and leaving the Alley, exiting the Leaky Cauldron and spotting his Uncle's car nearby. Making sure his trunk with all his precious new possessions inside it was shrunk and safely in his pocket, he walked towards the car. The only magical item he kept outside the trunk was his wand, which he kept on him. Deciding to test the drawing capability of his holster, he flexed his wrist and caught the wand as it slid into his palm. Satisfied, he re-holstered it, which involved letting it go and it automatically returned to the holster. Smirking, he got in the car, having let the owl go inside the Alley with instructions to go to his home. The owl had hooted and flown off so Raiden was expecting it to meet him there.

"Well boy, did you get what you needed?" his uncle growled.

Raiden smirked and drew his wand again. "Yes Uncle Vernon I did. Now, can we go home please?" Vernon snarled, but gulped upon seeing the wand half hidden in Raiden's sleeve. Turning back to the road, he put the car in gear and started back to Little Whinging. Raiden settled back in the car and closed his eyes, hardly able to wait until he started Hogwarts and began gathering friends and allies for the future.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four: Starting Hogwarts**

Raiden woke up the day of September first in a good mood. He was starting Hogwarts, and even better, he would get to see his master again. He thought it was incredibly ironic that the Dark Lord, a master of the Dark Arts, would choose to possess the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. The only thing that would be more ironic would be if Voldemort got his body back and then actually taught the class. Shaking his head, he left his room, which was still the cupboard under the stairs, and walked into the kitchen for breakfast.

After a leisurely breakfast Raiden un-shrunk his trunk and went through his supplies. His textbooks for first year were in the first compartment, along with the quills, ink and parchment that he would use in classes. His wand was in his wand holster on his arm, and his robes were neatly folded in the third compartment. His owl, who Raiden had named Salazar was not pleased at being in his cage, but grudgingly submitted when Raiden told him that it was only until they got to Hogwarts.

The train left at precisely eleven am so Raiden persuaded Vernon and Petunia to take him to King's Cross station, and he didn't even need magic. It would seem that the prospect of having him out of the house for most of the year was very appealing to them. The trip up to London was therefore quiet, and Raiden only sneered when the Dursleys left him at the station after telling him that the platform didn't appear to exist.

'Of course it doesn't exist to you, idiots, its magical' he thought irritably. Looking at the barrier between platforms 9 and 10 he spared a moment to admire the fact that it was hidden in plain sight so to speak and walked towards the gateway. He felt a slight tingle of magic as he walked through the seemingly solid wall. When he stepped onto the platform his breath caught in his throat at the sight of the gleaming scarlet train. He then had to step aside as a crowd of red headed children swarmed through the barrier.

Sneering at the loud, boisterous crowd he scanned the rest of the people for any sign of Draco. After a few minutes he spotted him, along with Lucius and a woman that Raiden could only assume was Draco's mother. He made his way over to them, noticing that his friend was scanning the crowd for a sign of him as well.

"Draco", "Harry" they said simultaneously. Raiden smiled at his friend and then turned to the two adults.

"Mr Mafoy, Mrs Malfoy" he said with a bow. Lucius raised an eyebrow while his wife smiled.

"Hello Mr Potter, it's a pleasure to meet you. Draco has been talking of nothing else but you since you met in Diagon Alley. I'm Narcissa and I believe you know my husband Lucius already."

Raiden nodded and relaxed a bit, knowing that they wouldn't harm him. "I was looking forward to meeting again as well. Being here is like something out of a dream although I know it's not. The next seven years are going to be fun."

"Yes they are," Lucius said calmly. The Malfoy patriach, although cool and collected in public, really liked his son's friend. He'd been prepared for Harry Potter to be an arrogant upstart like his father; however, the cool, calm and very Slytherin young man in front of him was nothing like his expectations. He also instinctively knew that anyone attempting to manipulate him would be badly shocked.

Just then the train whistled sharply and there was a rush to find compartments. Draco gave his parents a last hug and then scrambled for the train, yelling, "Harry, come on you don't want to miss the train." Raiden looked at Draco and then turned back to the two senior Malfoys.

"It was a pleasure to meet you again. I'll see you later."

"Goodbye Mr Potter," they said simultaneously. Raiden turned and jumped on the train, being met by Draco almost instantly. As the train gathered speed and pulled out of the station the two boys found an empty compartment and sat down.

"Made it. I was afraid you'd miss it for a second there Harry," Draco said. He looked around and then asked, "Where's your trunk and everything else?"

Raiden smirked. "My trunk is right here, Draco."

So saying, he withdrew the trunk from the pocket of his jeans and set it on the floor, before quietly hissing **enlarge** in parseltongue. Draco was stunned momentarily at the hissing before pulling himself back under control.

"Merlin you're a Parselmouth," he muttered. "Are you a descendant of Slytherin?"

"I don't know," Raiden admitted. "I know practically nothing about my family, but I don't think I'm a descendant of Slytherin. I could be wrong but I'm not sure. Please don't mention it to anyone."

"Sure," Draco said agreeably. There was a brief silence before a knock came at the compartment door. Raiden looked up as three more people came into the compartment, two large boys that seemed to be lacking a few brain cells, or at least that's what Raiden thought, and a girl that was as sarcastic and witty as Draco himself.

"Ah, Harry, this is Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, and Daphne Greengrass," Draco said as he made the introductions. "Guys this is my new friend Harry Potter."

There were sharp gasps before the three shut up at a glare from Raiden. "Please don't stare at me like that," he said sharply. They nodded and sat down; peppering him with questions about what his life was like. Raiden answered most of them, and they all enjoyed a good Muggle-bashing session.

Raiden in turn asked questions about Dumbledore and Hogwarts, and other things. Although he'd bought books on the magical world, there was nothing better than learning from other people, especially people who'd been taught how to handle the situations that he would find himself in. Raiden was especially interested in politics as he recognized that his status as the Boy-Who-Lived would land him smack in the middle of that arena sooner or later and he wanted to be prepared.

"Well, there's plenty of time to get you caught up on that Harry," Daphne was saying. "We're all only eleven and you won't be dealing with politics for a while yet. However, you'll need to know some things now. Don't trust Dumbledore being the first one. He'll try to use you to gain more status in the wizarding world."

Raiden nodded. "I wasn't planning on it believe me. I suppose you all want to be in Slytherin?" Nods all around greeted his question so Raiden leaned back. "Wonderful."

A knock came at the door and a head popped in, belonging to a boy who had been part of the sea of red hair on the platform earlier. A bushy haired girl was with him and they seemed impatient.

"Has anyone seen a toad?" the boy said. The five future Slytherins shook their heads. The bushy haired girl seemed disappointed until she caught sight of Raiden's scar.

"You're Harry Potter!" she squealed before going on for a bit on how he was ever so famous and she'd read all about him and he was in several books and she was so pleased to meet him and,

"What's your name?" Raiden snapped finally, tired of her prattle. The girl blinked.

"Hermione Granger," she said uncertainly. Draco, Crabbe, Goyle and Daphne sucked in a breath, and then Draco sneered at her. "Granger. That's not a family name I know. What do your parents do?"

"Well, I'm the first in my family to have magic and," Hermione said now confused at the hostile stares she was getting. Raiden sneered.

"So they're Muggles," he said. Hermione nodded. Raiden switched his gaze to the redhead standing behind her. "Who are you?" he snapped.

"Ron Weasley," the boy replied.

Draco snorted behind Raiden. "Oh look Harry, a Weasel and a Mudblood, how appropriate. In case you didn't know, the Weasley family is the poorest of the purebloods, and they actually _like_ Muggles."

Raiden wrinkled his nose. "Ew how _can_ they. Muggles are idiots that will turn on us and annihilate our civilization if given a chance." Looking up at the two interlopers he sneered again before saying coldly, "Remove yourself from our presence mudblood and take the weasel with you."

Daphne smirked and then added, "Yeah, we're getting tired of the stench." Ron and Hermione blinked, Hermione looking to be near tears, and then left. Draco stood up and then rummaged through his trunk, finally pulling out a set of robes. Getting the hint the rest of the group got out their robes as well.

The compartment was turned into a dressing room as they all changed. Although Daphne was the only girl there, Draco, Crabbe and Goyle didn't seem bothered by undressing in front of her, and Raiden followed their lead. Since they were all occupied anyway, there was no staring involved and they were soon sitting back down again, this time robed properly.

Half an hour later they were pulling into Hogsmeade station. They rose, leaving their trunks on the train, with the exception of Raiden who merely re-shrunk his trunk and put it in his pocket. Salazar had been let out earlier and had flown off to the owlery. Draco's own owl, who he'd named Athena had joined Salazar in the owlery.

The first years joined the throng on the platform, heading towards Hagrid who was calling for all the first years to join him. Raiden looked around, annoyed at all the jostling and shoving that his fellow first years were doing. He remained with his new friends, seeing that they were staying calm and generally unaffected by the chaos around them. In a group, they slipped and slid down a rocky path to the edge of the lake where a fleet of small boats waited.

"In you get. No more than four to a boat" Hagrid called. Raiden, Draco, Crabbe and Goyle got in one boat, with Daphne in the one behind them. After all the first years had got into a boat, Hagrid tapped the side of his own one and the fleet started forwards, moving across the smooth and calm lake.

Raiden gasped at his first sight of Hogwarts. Draco echoed it, before whispering, "Impressive huh?" Raiden nodded wordlessly, caught up in the moment. As they moved closer, Raiden's keen eyes saw the passage they were heading for.

"Heads down!" Hagrid yelled. There were grunts and yelps as some students weren't fast enough to duck. Raiden bent almost in half from his waist, as did Draco. Crabbe and Goyle bent as far as possible, but still got a bit scraped due to their height. They all got out of the boat at the other end, the ones that had got hit grumbling a bit and rubbing their heads.

They followed Hagrid up to the castle front doors. Hagrid stopped at the door and knocked three times. The doors opened to reveal a stern looking witch, her hair done up in a tight bun at the back. Raiden's immediate thought was that he didn't want to get on her bad side.

"The first years, Professor McGonagall," Hagrid said.

Professor McGonagall nodded before replying, "Thank you Hagrid, I will take them from here." She looked at the group of children and then smiled faintly before saying, "Follow me."

They followed her to a small chamber near a set of large double doors. There they stopped and fell silent when McGonagall held up her hand.

"These doors lead into the Great Hall. Before you take your seats with your fellow students you will be sorted into your houses. The four houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. While you are here, your house will be your family. Points will be given for any triumphs, while any rule breaking will lose points. At the end of the year the house with the most points will be given the house cup. I am going to make sure that things are ready for the Sorting Ceremony. When I return I will lead you into the hall. I suggest you smarten yourselves up a bit before I do."

Throughout this speech, Raiden had listened attentively. Although he knew most of the information from reading Hogwarts: A History, he still listened because it was rude not to. He straightened his robes with a few tugs, and made sure that he was standing upright and balanced the way his martial arts teacher had taught him, always ready to move quickly at a moment's notice. Beside him, Draco did the same, as did Daphne, Crabbe and Goyle. Raiden was slightly amused to notice that Ron had a smudge of dirt on his nose that he hadn't bothered to wipe off, and another boy, whose name he didn't know had his robes fastened under his left ear.

Professor McGonagall returned at that moment and swept her keen gaze over the group. Her gaze lingered on Ron and the unknown boy but she said nothing beyond "We're ready for you now. Follow me."

The first years formed a rough line and walked behind Professor McGonagall up the center aisle of the Great Hall. Raiden noticed the older students watching them intently and tightened his mental shields even further to avoid being overwhelmed with all the thoughts bouncing round the room.

He looked up at the Head Table, seeing the rest of the staff watching. His gaze swept over the staff, recognizing Dumbledore from the pictures in the books he'd brought with him. Other staff he only knew from Draco's description of them. One he especially noticed was Professor Snape, who was glaring at him. Raiden narrowed his eyes and stared right back. He felt a slight probe in his mind and realized that Snape was a Legilimens.

Tightening his shields he reinforced the image of being a clueless eleven-year-old and felt the probe leave after a few seconds. Raiden then switched his gaze to Professor Quirrell and felt his scar react slightly again. Suppressing a smirk he waited patiently for the Sorting Ceremony to begin.

An old hat was placed on a stool in front of the first years. After it sang a song about the different houses it fell silent, waiting for the first student to be called up.

The first student to be called up was Hannah Abbot. She went to Hufflepuff. Apparently the students were going to be in alphabetical order. This was fine by Raiden who waited patiently while his fellow students were sorted. Soon it had got down to the P's, and he saw Draco sitting at the Slytherin table, along with Daphne and another girl named Millicent Bulstrode. Crabbe and Goyle were also sitting with them and they all smiled encouragement to him.

He smiled back, keeping his nervousness off his face. The Muggle-born that they had insulted back on the train, Hermione Granger, had gone to Ravenclaw, which was no surprise given her love of books. Raiden snorted, she had looked disappointed in the Hat's decision.

'Probably been hoping for Gryffindor' he thought with a mental snort. He returned his attention to the ceremony just as his name was called.

"Potter, Harry" Professor McGonagall called out. As Raiden strode over to the stool and sat down he thought he saw the staff sit more alertly, and Professor McGonagall smiled at him before the hat dropped over his head, cutting off the whispers that had sprung up around the hall, speculating on what House was going to get him.

Raiden was silent as he caught a presence in his mind. Smirking, he encircled and confronted it.

"What are you doing here" he demanded silently. The presence seemed startled.

"Mr Potter, I am the Sorting Hat. I need to look around your mind to see where you would best be placed. Your mental shields are quite impressive, I didn't sense them until you brought them around me."

Raiden smirked. "That was the general idea. Now, I'll let you have access to my mind, only if you swear to not tell ANYONE, and I mean anyone what you see."

The Hat seemed annoyed now. "Young man I am bound by a confidentiality oath to not tell anyone what I see in the minds of the incoming students. Not even the Headmaster himself can get me to tell what I know, and I know a lot. Now, if you please, open those shields and let me do my job."

Raiden reluctantly opened his mind to the Hat and felt it go searching round his memories.

"My my Mr Potter, you have quite the number of secrets. I can see why you were cautious about me being here. Now, where to put you…"

Inside the Hat, an argument between the essences of the Founders was going on. Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw stayed out of it, Raiden was certainly bright but not study driven enough to survive in the Raven's Nest, and while he was loyal it was only to those he deemed his friends and family. So the argument was between Gryffindor and Slytherin.

"His parents were in MY house, Salazar!" Godric Gryffindor growled agitatedly.

Salazar Slytherin merely smirked and examined his fingernails. "Indeed, Gryffindor, but as the boy himself has pointed out he is NOT his parents. Also, he has been my Heir's apprentice for the past three years, and his character is decidedly Slytherin. He is brave, I'll grant you that, but he is not prone to rushing headlong into things like your lion cubs are. He is a serpent, through and through, and he has plans to remodel the Wizarding World. That is pure ambition and cunning. He belongs in the Serpent's Lair, not the Lion's Den as you well know. Now, let me have him."

Gryffindor threw up his hands in disgust. "Very well, you take him then. Just don't lose him to the Dark like you did Riddle."

"That was Dumbledore's meddling that did that you foolish idiot. Harry Potter will bring him back, and will be the anchor that my Heir needs to retain his sanity and do what he originally planned to do before he sank into madness. Stop being a pessimist."

The argument concluded and Raiden became aware of the Hat muttering to itself, "Courage in bucketfuls but you don't jump headlong into things, loyalty only to your friends and those you consider family, a love of learning, but only as it meets your needs, and ambition and cunning worthy of Salazar himself. Oh yes, there's only one place for you, young Potter. Have fun and do try to leave the school intact at the end of your years in SLYTHERIN!"

Raiden removed the Hat and stood, to dead silence. You could have heard a pin drop and the staff looked shocked, with the exception of Quirrell who raised his glass slightly.

Dumbledore looked disappointed, while McGonagall looked almost heartbroken. Raiden began walking over to the Slytherin table who stood as one and clapped loudly. This snapped the rest of the Hall out of their shock and they clapped as well albeit half heartedly.

As he sat down next to Draco, he heard the name of the next student to be called up. This continued until the last student, a boy who had a spark of mischief in his eyes but was otherwise very serious looking, was sorted into Slytherin. The boy sat down next to Harry and held out his hand.

"Blaise Zabini. Nice to meet you."

Raiden shook the outstretched hand and replied, "Likewise. I'm Harry Potter."

Blaise nodded and introduced himself to the rest of the Slytherin first years, who accepted him into their group almost immediately. Apart from Harry, the other Slytherin first years were, Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle and Blaise Zabini for the boys. For the girls there were Millicent Bulstrode, Pansy Parkinson, Daphne Greengrass and Nora Moon. The nine students began quietly discussing the potential classes until the other students fell silent. Looking up at the Head Table Raiden saw that Dumbledore had got to his feet.

"Ahem. I know that you're all hungry so I'll make the announcements brief. First years please note that the Forbidden Forest is exactly that, forbidden. No student may go there except in the company of a staff member. No magic is to be done in the corridors and our school caretaker, Mr Filch has a list on his office door of all banned items. Also, this year, the right hand corridor on the third floor is out of bounds at all times. If you go exploring there, please be aware that you will suffer a horrendously painful death. I do not wish that upon any of you so do not go there. Since I can hear your stomachs growling from here I will simply finish with these words. Nitwit, oddment, blubber and tweak. Thank you."

As the old wizard sat back down, Raiden turned to one of the older students who was sitting a few seats down from him, and across the table. "Is he mad?" he queried.

The student swallowed a piece of steak and kidney pie before answering, "Yes a bit. He's brilliant and powerful of course, but he is a bit off his rocker. Have you tried the roast beef yet?"

Raiden shook his head and promptly helped himself to some of the succulent meat. Whatever else Hogwarts might hold in store for him, he would never go hungry that was for certain. Over the course of the meal he found out that the older student he'd talked to was one of the sixth year Prefects, called Emma MacDonald. The sixth year Prefects would be the ones looking after the firsties for the first few weeks, showing them the way to classes and such, although any of the Prefects would gladly help them out if the sixth years were unavailable for some reason. Raiden shrugged at the information that there would be an orientation meeting later on and finished his dessert, a bowl of trifle and apple crumble before the dishes disappeared.

Before they all went to bed, Dumbledore stood up and asked that they sing the school song. Raiden privately sneered at this but joined in nonetheless. He didn't want to make Dumbledore suspicious after all. It was a cacophony of different tunes and at the end the only ones left singing were the Weasley twins who had chosen a funeral march for the tune.

Raiden shook his head and walked with his friends as Emma and her male counterpart, Aaron Dolohov showed them the way to the Slytherin Common Room. Once there, they flopped down onto the beanbags. They were tired but wanted to have the orientation before sleeping. The prefects looked amused and slightly sorry that they had to keep the tired firsties up even later and got the meeting started.

"Right," Aaron started. "There are several things you need to know in order to survive in Slytherin House. First and most important is this: Stick together. Outside this common room we are one. Any personal problems or grievances that you have with another Slytherin stays in here. If you show a weakness outside here then you're fair game for our enemies. We are not well liked by the other houses, Gryffindor especially. Ravenclaw is neutral enough but Hufflepuff will stand with Gryffindor against us."

As the first years nodded, Emma took over. "Second, never get caught breaking the rules. If you do get caught, assign blame to somewhere else. Never take blame for anything. We have held the House Cup for the last six years and we don't want to lose it."

Aaron took over again. "Third, Dark does not equal Evil, just as ambition does not automatically mean power-hungry. Make your own choices in life and stick to them, don't let anyone sway you from them."

"Fourth, Professor Snape, as our Head of House is always willing to listen if you have a problem that you need to talk about if you can't come to us. He will protect and care about you while you are here. Just don't interrupt him while he's brewing. That's suicide."

There were chuckles all around at that point and then a low, baritone voice interrupted Emma. "That is quite right, Miss MacDonald."

Professor Snape stepped into the light, surveying the new first years, his eyes landing on Draco and then Raiden. Looking to the prefects he said, "I apologise for interrupting but I need to add my own message to this orientation." Upon their nods he continued, this time talking directly to the firsties.

"What your prefects have told you is perfectly correct. I will add this one thing. I expect each and every one of you to uphold the pride of Slytherin House. Do anything that results in tarnishing that pride and the consequences will be severe. Now, as you've heard everything that you need to know, you are free to go to bed. Mr Potter, may I have a word with you before you go though."

Draco and Raiden's other tentative friends looked startled but Raiden stood smoothly. Looking back at his friends he said, "Go on, I'll see you soon." With reluctant nods they left, leaving Raiden alone with Snape and the prefects who quickly excused themselves too.

Snape looked Raiden in the eye for a few seconds before motioning to one of the couches. Raiden sat and looked at his Head of House in confusion.

"You can drop the façade, Mr Potter. Although you were almost successful in hiding your shields I sensed them very briefly while I was withdrawing. What is your purpose for having them?"

Raiden cursed mentally, and then looked his professor in the eyes. "Sir, I have certain secrets that I can't tell you yet. I don't want Dumbledore to know about certain abilities of mine lest he try and use me."

Snape sat down and looked seriously at Raiden. "Mr Potter, I am your Head of House. Whatever you tell me will be treated as confidential. Not even Albus Dumbledore can get me to tell him what a student tells me in confidence and my own Occlumency shields are more than sufficient to keep your secrets. Tell me. You need to trust someone here, why not me?"

Raiden looked away and sighed. "Sir, may I go to bed? I promise I'll tell you everything tomorrow morning, it's still the weekend and I can think better with more sleep. Please?"

Snape growled inwardly, what he'd told Raiden was true, he wouldn't tell Dumbledore anything of what was told to him, and he was impressed that Raiden had managed to pick up the fact that Dumbledore was planning on using him. He'd have to add that to the list of questions he planned on asking. Knowing that Raiden was waiting for an answer he said, "Very well, go to bed. I'll be waiting in my office tomorrow after breakfast, ask one of the prefects to show you the way. Have a good night's sleep, Mr Potter."

"You too Professor" Raiden said quietly as he rose and headed up the hall that he'd seen the other first years going up. Withdrawing his trunk from the pocket of his robes he put it beside the unclaimed bed before unshrinking it and getting out his pyjamas. Changing swiftly he climbed into bed and was soon dead to the world. Meanwhile Severus Snape had retreated to his own quarters to sleep as well. His last thought was that he was going to enjoy unraveling the mystery of one Harry Potter.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five: Classes and Revelations**

Sure enough, just after breakfast the next morning, Raiden found himself being escorted by Emma to Professor Snape's office. They were quiet on the way down, Emma knew that Raiden wasn't in trouble but she was curious as to why Snape wanted to talk to him on the first day. She knocked on the door and then gave Raiden a small push when the door opened.

"Go on Harry, he won't bite" she said softly, before blushing as a voice from inside said, "Much" in response to her comment. Raiden held in a smirk and entered the office, looking around curiously. The various pickled items almost made his stomach return his breakfast but he kept control of it by a narrow margin.

"Mr Potter, sit down. I trust you had a good night's sleep," Professor Snape asked. Raiden nodded wordlessly, trying to get comfortable. Snape noticed this and subtly flicked his wand, making the chair slightly more comfortable to sit on.

"Thank you Professor," Raiden said, relaxing a bit but taking care to not fully relax. Snape noticed this and his curiosity went up a notch.

"What are you afraid of Mr Potter?" he queried. "I'm not about to harm you, weren't you listening to the prefects last night?"

Raiden stiffened. "I'm not afraid of anything and I was listening Professor. I was just always taught to be alert so no one can catch me by surprise. Plus, I'm always wary around those that I don't know very well yet."

"Especially adults it seems," Snape noted.

Raiden flushed slightly. "Most adults haven't really cared about me and those that have couldn't outwardly show it. My relatives didn't exactly promote the idea of trusting authority figures."

Snape was looking shrewdly at him. "Did they ever hurt you Mr Potter?"

Raiden stiffened again and hissed agitatedly. "I'd rather not answer that question Professor. I can say that they did slap me a few times, and gave me all the chores to do while their own son did none. I was also their son's punching bag while they turned a blind eye. I was treated like a house elf basically."

Snape nodded. "That doesn't answer my question of why you have Occlumency shields that rival my own though. Care to explain that?"

Raiden smirked. "Let's just say that I acquired a mentor at age eight who taught me how to use my magic. I was picking up the thoughts of everyone around me which was driving me insane so my teacher taught me to build mental shields round my mind to block them out. The fact that the shields hide my secrets as well is a bonus."

"What secrets?" Snape pressed. As Head of Slytherin, he didn't like surprises and wanted to know everything about Harry Potter before the year began.

Raiden looked undecided. "I'm not sure I can tell you. I'd need to discuss it with my mentor first before I tell you," he said, playing for time. He wanted to tell Snape, he recognized that he needed an adult ally inside the school but he wasn't sure whose side Snape was really on.

Snape sighed. "Mr Potter, can you tell me in vague terms what you were taught by this mentor without naming names? It would help me to understand the situation."

Raiden narrowed his eyes. "Fine. When was eight I had done all sorts of accidental magic, and I was outside doing my homework when I met my mentor. He helped me control my magic and stopped the outbursts."

"Outbursts?" Snape queried.

Raiden smirked. "I was able to Apparate to the school roof when my cousin and his gang were chasing me once, and I was levitating and breaking things when I got angry or scared. My relatives hate me because I'm magical and I wanted to learn to control the magic so it didn't break out like that. My mentor taught me that, plus how to heal myself when Dudley and his gang beat me up."

Snape put a quill on the table in front of Raiden. "I suspect you were taught more than healing. Try levitating this, wandlessly."

Raiden looked at him and then smoothly levitated the feather before banishing it and summoning it back. He then sent it in an upwards spiral before causing it to become invisible and then visible. After that he let it settle back down on the desk.

"Does that answer your question sir?" he asked respectfully.

Snape was working hard to hide his shock. Once he'd got himself under control he said, "OK, that's one reason you've got good Occlumency shields. What else?"

Raiden raised an eyebrow and then Snape felt a slight pressure on his shields, before his student smirked at him and said, "Did you have a feud with a group of students that included my father?"

Snape now lost all composure as he stared at Raiden. "How the hell did you get in, you shouldn't have been able to…"

Raiden grinned. "That pressure you felt was me exiting. I can get in relatively easily but I'm not quite as skilful with the exit. Sorry."

Snape was shaking his head. "Mr Potter, no one has been able to do that to me, not even Voldemort. Kindly don't make a habit of this, people's thoughts are supposed to be private. Is this all the secrets that you're hiding in there?"

"Nope but I can't tell you the rest until I know you better. Oh, and you don't want to know what I'll do if the Headmaster finds out about this."

"Threats Mr Potter?" Snape asked silkily.

Raiden shook his head. "No, Professor. Promises."

Raiden rose and left, after getting a nod from Snape that gave him permission to do so. Snape watched him leave, thinking that Raiden was going to be as much trouble as his father, just in a different way.

Raiden was heading back to the Slytherin common room, thinking furiously. He had to speak to Voldemort soon but how? He couldn't blow Quirrell's cover or his master would be extremely displeased and Raiden didn't want that. If there was one thing he hated doing it was disappointing or annoying his master. Shaking his head he found himself standing in front of the Slytherin common room entrance.

"Gryffindors are morons," he muttered. The wall slid aside and he entered, sitting down on the couch, and frowning as he tried to work through the problem. He looked up when he sensed the presence of Draco and Daphne in front of him.

"Hi guys," he said.

Draco sat down on one side, with Daphne on the other. "What's going on, we heard that Professor Snape wanted to talk to you this morning. Is it bad news?"

"No, it wasn't. He just wanted to ask me a few questions. It's nothing bad don't worry," Raiden said reassuringly.

Draco smiled. "OK. Do you want to go exploring? We might run into a few mudbloods we can harass."

Raiden winced. "Don't call them that please" he muttered. Seeing his friends' shocked looks he snapped, "My mother was muggleborn alright. I shouldn't have called Hermione that, it's basically insulting my own mother."

"Fine" Draco grumbled. "Why did you say it on the train then, if you don't subscribe to that viewpoint?"

"I wanted her to leave and said the most hurtful thing I could think of at the time," Raiden admitted sheepishly. Getting up he stretched before continuing, "I think a wander is a good idea. Get acquainted with the layout of the castle before lessons tomorrow. Let's go."

Draco and Daphne joined him readily enough and the three first years had fun exploring the castle. They never went up to the third floor though, just navigating the maze of lower corridors was confusing enough, and when they finally found the Great Hall again after two hours of going round in circles, they were happy to collapse at the Slytherin table, exhausted.

"Phew I'm glad the prefects are going to show us the way to classes," Daphne muttered. Draco and Raiden nodded agreement, not yet recovered enough to talk. They sat in silence for a few more minutes until Raiden spied Hermione Granger walking into the room. Without saying anything he got up and walked over to the Ravenclaw table, hoping to make friends with her. She seemed like she'd be good with research and other book type things given her obsession with books.

"Hermione," he said, not allowing the nervousness he felt inside show itself. Hermione looked up, and her expression became guarded upon seeing the boy who had been so horrible to her on the train.

"Yes," she responded coolly.

Raiden winced and then said, "Can I sit down, I'd like to talk."

Hermione was shocked, but reluctantly agreed . Raiden sat with a smile and then shocked her even more by saying, "I'm sorry for what I said on the train, I didn't truly mean it."

Hermione threw Draco's same words back at him when she spat out, "Then why did you say it?"

"I said it because you barged in on us and then went on and on about how famous I was and how excited you were to meet me and everything without thinking that I'm only famous because of my parents' deaths and furthermore, that it might be a touchy subject for me. I wanted you to stop and go away so I said the most hurtful thing I could think of at the time."

"OK I accept that, but what caused your change of heart, apart from that reason?" Hermione asked curiously.

Raiden gave her a crooked smile and replied softly, "My mother was muggleborn, insulting you is like insulting her and I refuse to do that."

"What about Ron Weasley then?" Hermione asked.

Raiden snorted. "He has been nothing but insulting to the first real friends I've ever had, Hermione, and he has immediately decided that I'm evil just because I'm a Slytherin. I'm not going to put up with that." Raiden frowned, remembering the hateful glare the redhead had shot at him and the muttered whisper of "Traitor" and other insults as he walked past the line of unsorted first years to get to the Slytherin table the night before.

Hermione nodded, and then looked rather nervously over towards the Slytherin table where Draco and Daphne were glaring at her. "Um, Harry your friends are glaring at us."

Raiden looked over and shrugged. "They'll get over it. They knew I was going to try making friends with you, I think they just want me to go back to them instead of spending a lot of time here."

"Are you going to?"

"Maybe. I want to know something first. Slytherin and Ravenclaw have a neutral history together, do you want to be friends and bridge the House barrier?"

Hermione grinned and then said "Yes."

Upon hearing that, Raiden grinned and rose, saying, "I'll see you in classes then, and prepare for grade competition." Hermione gave him an answering grin and then Raiden walked back over to the Slytherin table, sitting down just as lunch started.

"Harry why were you talking to her?" Daphne hissed. Raiden glanced over at her with an amused smirk and replied, "Jealous Daph," he teased. Seeing his friend's glare he sobered and continued, "Seriously, I'm not about to turn into a Ravenclaw. I just think that she could be useful in the future, and she's a Ravenclaw, they're supposed to be almost allies right? There's no sense in alienating a potential resource. And I felt bad for insulting her earlier. I'm not about to suddenly be friends with every muggle-born."

"OK I was just wondering," Daphne muttered, wondering why Harry talking to Hermione had set off such a reaction in her. It wasn't just the House boundaries; it was something else that she didn't know how to classify at present. Shrugging she decided to shelve that issue for the moment, and work on being Harry's friend. The boy intrigued her, and she wanted to know more.

Draco ignored the minor spat between his friends, although he filed away Daphne's jealousy for later examination. He turned to talk to Blaise, who had sat down beside him. Blaise was quiet but seemed nice enough, and Draco was interested in making as many friends and potential allies as he could. The fact that Raiden was also his friend was a bonus and Raiden was agreeable to adding Blaise into their group if he was.

"Hey Draco, get lost around the castle this morning?" Blaise asked.

He was rewarded with a growl from Draco, and a groan from Raiden. "Don't ask Blaise. Do you know what we're doing later?"

"I thought we were going to do some text reading to get ahead for classes tomorrow," Blaise replied, before digging into his meal. Raiden shrugged, it wasn't quite what he'd had planned, but it would do. He looked up as a faint ache began in his scar, and saw Quirrell making his way over to their table.

"Mr P potter, c c could I see you after lunch?" the professor enquired.

Raiden nodded and replied, "Certainly Professor, in your office?"

Receiving confirmation of that, Raiden dug into his lunch and was soon finished. He got directions to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, and was told that the teacher's office was at the back of the classroom. He found his way there easily enough, as he had a specific destination and wasn't just wandering aimlessly. He walked in to see Quirrell sitting in the office.

The professor looked up as Raiden entered, before flicking his wand, locking the door and putting up a silencing charm. With that done, he dropped the façade of the scared stuttering idiot and smirked at Raiden.

When he spoke, his voice was that of Voldemort, and his eyes were red. Voldemort had taken over his body in order to talk to his apprentice.

"Well, I see you got into Slytherin my young apprentice," he said calmly.

Raiden nodded. "Yes I have, Master. The looks on the staff's faces were amusing. What did you want to talk to me about?"

"I wanted to see whether you'd completed the tasks I gave you, and to give you some more information about this year and what to do regarding certain people."

Raiden nodded and sat down when Voldemort waved him to a chair. "OK Master, I'm listening."

"Good. Did you do the research I asked you to do?"

"Yes Master. Your name means Flight of Death or Flight from Death depending on how you translate it. My chosen name is Raiden."

Voldemort nodded at this. "Good, very good. Raiden it is then. Have you made friends yet?"

"Yes, Draco Malfoy, Daphne Greengrass, and Blaise Zabini. Hermione Granger is a tentative acquaintance who may turn into a friend later on once I trust her more."

"Muggleborn?" Voldemort queried sharply.

Raiden nodded. "Yes Master, but she is smart and will be a powerful witch one day. We need muggleborns to keep the magic gene pool from becoming too small. I recognize your grievances with muggles but really, if we allow the powerful ones to intermarry with the half bloods and purebloods, we can keep the genetic pool diverse and the magic strong. We can sort out the problem of secrecy later."

"Hmm, I suppose you're right. Just be careful with her, I don't want you telling her everything and then her turning on us later."

"OK Master I will. What did you want to tell me?"

"The Philosopher's Stone is being kept in Hogwarts, in the third floor corridor on the right side. It will give extended life to anyone who drinks it's elixir of life. If we acquire it, I can get my body back, and we can start creating our new world."

"Brilliant. I can't do much about that now so may I have the year to work on it, Master?" Raiden asked this respectfully, he knew how much his master wanted his body back, but knew that he wasn't supposed to know this information and it would look suspicious if he asked questions at this point. Voldemort nodded, he'd been following Raiden's thought processes and agreed with him.

"Yes you may. I also want to say that you may trust Severus Snape with our secrets. If he enquires again, tell him what he wants to know. He can help refine your Occlumency and Legilimency skills as well. You'll learn a lot from him if you allow yourself to learn. Apart from that, pay attention in class and don't worry about Quirrell, he stutters the way he does due to me. Just read your textbook and practice the spells in there, do them with your wand and the incantations when you're around others, and practice them wandless when you're alone. Try wordless as well if you want but that will be taught at sixth year level anyway so you don't need to worry so much about that if you're having trouble."

Raiden nodded and then stood. "May I go back to my friends, Master; I need to read up for classes tomorrow." At Voldemort's nod, he exited the room, noticing that the silencing charm and locking spell were taken down as soon as he stood up to leave. Walking down the corridor he bumped into Ron Weasley.

"What do you want, Weasley?" he sighed, not in the mood to worry about combative idiots.

Ron seethed and then yelled, "You're a traitor Potter, I'll bet you were leaving traps up here for the rest of us."

Raiden sighed again. "Listen Weasel, I know my parents were Gryffindors but the simple fact is my personality was more suited to Slytherin than Gryffindor. Your rude and insulting behavior is not appreciated. For your information, I was just coming from a conversation with Professor Quirrell about classes, and I am now heading back to my common room. Stop insulting me and leave me alone and we'll get on fine. For now, please move."

Ron glared but stepped aside. As Raiden passed him and walked on down the hall he kept alert for the tingle of magic that would signal a spell being cast. Sure enough he heard a shouted, "Furnunculus!" and red sparks shot at him. Spinning round, Raiden saw Ron with his wand out, and hissing at the red sparks that had come out instead of a curse.

Pulling his own wand he lazily pointed it at the redheaded bully and said, "Obviously you're not very bright, Weasley, so here's a lesson for you. Read the textbook before casting new spells and pay attention to the pronunciation. The curse you were trying to do is this.

Pointing his wand at his new enemy, Raiden muttered, "Furunculus!" and watched in satisfaction as a red jet of light shot at Ron. Ron froze; not having the sense to duck, and the spell hit him.

Raiden smirked as his enemy doubled over with a severe case of boils on his face and hands. Retracting his wand, he said, "You'd better go to the hospital wing, Weasley, those boils look nasty." Turning around, he continued his trek to the Slytherin common room, where he joined his friends in studying their textbooks for classes, and getting advice on History of Magic, which amounted to sleep in class and read the textbook later. They were all reading up on Potions ingredients and the different ways they could interact when dinner time rolled around. Happily they packed up their books and left for dinner, after which they had an early night as they wanted to be awake for their first day of classes.

The next morning, the prefects took them up to the Great Hall and gave them their schedules. Raiden took his and saw that it was well organized. Most classes were either double house classes, or single house. They had Defence Against the Dark Arts and Astronomy on their own, and shared Transfiguration and Potions with Gryffindor, while they had Herbology with the Hufflepuffs, and History of Magic with the Ravenclaws. Grinning, he gathered up his stuff and followed his year-mates out the door, where they all followed the prefect up to their first lesson of the year.

The week passed slowly, with the first years learning the way to classes thanks to their helpful prefects. The Slytherins couldn't help but be a bit smug when they realized that the other houses didn't appear to have this system in place, with the result that other first years had to get lost on the way, unless they asked another student.

History of Magic was a bore, and Raiden was quite happy to sleep through it, after setting up a Dicta-Quill which wrote down every word Professor Binns, who was the only ghost teacher on staff, said. The result was the other Slytherin first years wanting his notes, and the prefects commenting on the fact that they wished they'd had the sense to do that in their first year. Trasfiguration was interesting but difficult due to the mountain of complicated notes they had to take. After reading and rereading the notes, Raiden got frustrated and decided to do it his way. His way was basically imagining what he wanted changed and then letting his magic flow out his wand and over the matchstick that they were trying to turn into a needle. There was a moment's hesitation from the matchstick before it turned into a perfect needle. The rest of the class gaped at him before turning back to their matchsticks. Professor McGonagall looked at him for a moment before awarding him 20 points. Raiden was packing up at the end of the class when Professor McGonagall called out to him.

"Mr Potter, would you mind waiting for a minute please?" Raiden stopped and turned back to face her.

"Yes Professor," he said politely.

Professor McGonagall looked at him and then said, "How did you manage to do that transfiguration so flawlessly Mr Potter? Not many first years make any change at all to their matchsticks in the first lesson and you do the full thing. I'm not annoyed, just very curious."

Raiden shrugged. "I couldn't do it from the notes, Professor, so I just imagined what I wanted to happen and then I let the magic flow out my wand and it changed the matchstick into a needle. I found trying to follow the notes confusing and nothing was happening so I tried it that way and it worked. Did I do something wrong?"

Professor McGonagall was shocked at the explanation. "No, Mr Potter, you didn't, it's just an unusual way of doing it. Most first years don't have the necessary visualization skills to do it the way that you described. If it works for you then continue to do it that way, however, be warned that it won't always be this easy. As you continue to advance in your schooling, being able to visualize all the aspects of the change becomes harder until you reach the top, which is the animagus transformation. You'd better get to your next class now."

Raiden nodded politely and left with a slip explaining his lateness for Herbology. Herbology was interesting too, and Raiden didn't mind getting a bit dirty, while Draco did and protested vehemently against having to ruin his hands. This continued until Raiden pointed out the close ties between Herbology and Potions.

Astronomy was fun, although Raiden didn't like the late night Thursdays, even if he did like the chance to observe the night sky through his telescope. He thought it was funny that Professor Sinistra was half asleep during their daytime Astronomy lessons; she was far more awake at night. Raiden secretly speculated that if she were an Animagus, it would be an owl.

The rest of the classes were interesting although Defence was a disappointment. Although Raiden was pleased to be so close to his master, he thought that having a teacher who stuttered so badly they could hardly understand him was not conducive to a good education. In disgust, he vowed to read his textbook and learn Defence that way.

The rest of the Slytherins followed his lead on this, as they didn't like Quirrell either. By far the best lessons of the week were Potions, which showed Raiden very clearly why it would be a bad idea to be unprepared for class, and why he was very glad he didn't go into Gryffindor.

The Slytherins were sitting down quietly, having organized their ingredients, cauldrons and parchement and ink neatly on their work stations. Draco and Raiden were sitting together, as were Daphne and Blaise. The Gryffindors seemed nervous and twitchy being in the dungeons which was Slytherin territory. Raiden sensed Snape's presence mere seconds before he swept through the door and closed it with a bang.

What followed was the best lesson Raiden had ever had. Snape, like McGonagall had the gift of keeping a class silent without effort, and his speech about bottling fame, brewing glory and putting a stopper in death was inspiring. The Slytherins then choked with silent laughter as Snape began the questioning that their prefects had warned them about.

"Weasley," Snape snapped, "what would you get if you added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" As Ron stammered that he didn't know, Snape smirked cruelly before saying, "You don't know? Well here's an easy one since you're mentally challenged, where, Weasley, would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

Ron went red as he couldn't answer this question either. Snape shook his head and then sighed in mock regret. "Weasley, you really are incompetent if you can't even look at your copy of One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi to find the answers, or did it fall apart due to being handed down from several brothers already?"

Turning round, Snape caught sight of Raiden's smirk and asked, "Mr Potter, perhaps you can enlighten your classmates as to the answers?"

Raiden straightened up, not wanting to embarrass his housemates, or his head of house. He mentally reviewed the Potions information he'd learnt the previous night and then smiled slightly.

"Yes sir. Powdered root of asphodel combined with an infusion of wormwood creates a sleeping draught known as the Draught of Living Death, and a bezoar is the stone found in the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons."

Snape stared at him shrewdly and Raiden felt a pressure against his shields. He reinforced them and shoved the presence away, while never breaking eye contact. Snape looked at him for a second before inclining his head slightly.

"Very good Potter, ten points to Slytherin. Could you also, perhaps, answer this last question for me, what is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

Raiden grinned and answered, "Certainly sir. There is no difference between them; they are the same plant which is also called aconite."

Snape nodded, awarded another five points to Slytherin and then snapped questions at random class members, trying to find out who had prepared for class and who hadn't. Once he'd finished, he set them to making a potion to cure boils, staring hard at Raiden as he gave out instructions. Raiden smirked slightly, obviously Snape had heard of what he'd done to Ron Weasley. He and Draco efficiently went to work, and had their potion bubbling nicely when Snape came round to inspect.

"Very good both of you, it should be almost finished." He then moved away to harass the Gryffindors, and as Raiden and Draco were bottling their potion there was a horrible hissing noise. Looking round, Raiden quickly levitated himself up off the floor and hissed at the Slytherins nearest them to get up onto their chairs. He himself held onto his chair to give the appearance that he'd just climbed on top of it.

The reason for this action was quite clear, Neville Longbottom, one of the Gryffindors that was the most nervous around Snape had managed to melt his cauldron and the potion was sliding over the floor. Snape snarled at the mess, before vanishing it with his wand.

Growling, he sent Neville up to the hospital wing, along with his partner, Seamus Finnegan, before snapping, "All those who were burnt by the potion go to the hospital wing. Those who weren't, finish your potions and don't melt the cauldrons."

He heard a soft snicker from Ron Weasley who was sitting just behind where Neville and Seamus had been. Spinning round he advanced on the Gryffindor, dropping his voice to a low, silky drawl that sounded extremely menacing.

"Why didn't you tell Mr Longbottom not to add the porcupine quills until it was off the fire Weasley? Did you think that you would look good if he got it wrong? Ten points from Gryffindor."

As Ron spluttered and choked with indignation, Snape turned to the rest of the class and announced that they were to bottle their finished products and bring them to the front for grading. Raiden and Draco took theirs to the front and then walked out of the classroom, along with the other Slytherins, who were all talking about how great Snape was in class.

As Raiden sat down to dinner that night, he thought that if this was what the first week had been like then he could definitely like being at Hogwarts and one other thing was certain, he loved being a Slytherin.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six: Halloween Horrors**

The weeks passed quickly and soon Raiden and his friends had settled into life at Hogwarts. Potions continued to be fun for the Slytherins and hell for the Gryffindors, while the battle for the top two spots in all classes had come down to Raiden and Hermione, the top of the class spot fluctuating between those two every few weeks except in Potions, where Draco was second and Hermione third.

The week before Halloween, Raiden found himself in Snape's office once again, for another interrogation about his mysterious "mentor". Snape had decided to push for more information, now that his most enigmatic student had settled in, and so had summoned him for a weekend meeting.

"You wanted to see me, Professor?" Raiden said politely as he took a seat.

Snape nodded and fixed Raiden with a penetrating stare. "Yes, Mr Potter I did. I'd like more information on your mentor; you have had time to discuss it with him I take it?"

Raiden sighed and nodded, remembering that Voldemort had said that he could trust his head of house. "Yes sir I have. Could you put up privacy wards please, this is information that neither I nor my mentor wants being made public."

Snape raised his eyebrows but did as requested. Once the wards were in place Raiden relaxed, and then stared straight at his Professor. The next words he spoke had Snape struggling to find composure.

"Professor, my mentor is Lord Voldemort."

"H, how, can that be, Mr Potter, he's gone, isn't he?"

Raiden smirked. "He's a ghost of some description, and has been my mentor since I was eight. He's the one that taught me Occlumency, and how to do Legilimency, only he said that I could learn more from you about that if you wanted to teach me. He also taught me wandless and wordless magic, although he has said to learn the spells like they're taught in class and not worry about the wandless/wordless bit until I'm older if I have trouble."

Professor Snape was now staring at Raiden in shock and thinking furiously. 'I have to keep this secret from Dumbledore, oh Merlin, what he would do if he found out that Harry Potter was the personal apprentice of the Dark Lord, oh shit.'

Fixing Raiden with a hard look he asked, "Are you the Dark Lord's apprentice, Mr Potter?"

Raiden met his Head of House's stare with a calm look and said, "Yes."

Silence fell for a few moments before Raiden broke it, asking, "What do you intend to do, Professor?"

Snape sat back and thought for a few minutes before answering. "I intend to keep your secret, Mr Potter, I won't tell the Headmaster about this. One thing I do want to know is, where is your master now?"

Raiden smirked and replied, "He's possessing Professor Quirrell, sir," before fighting back a snort of laughter at the gobsmacked look his teacher was giving him.

Finally Snape whispered, "You mean to tell me that the Dark Lord, a master of the Dark Arts, is essentially teaching_ Defence_ against the Dark Arts?" At Raiden's smug look his eyes rolled back in his head and he fainted.

A quick Enervate from Raiden woke him and the first thing out of the Head of Slytherin's mouth was, "Tell anyone about what just happened and I'll turn you into Potions ingredients, Dark Lord or not."

Raiden shrugged and replied, "I had no intention of doing so, Professor. Do you have any further questions for me?"

"No I don't, not at this stage. May I assume you know what is being held in the third floor corridor?"

"Guarded by that three-headed monstrosity called Fluffy? Yes I do. The Philosopher's Stone."

Snape pinned Raiden with a measuring stare before answering, "That is correct. If the Dark Lord is possessing Quirrell then he would also know about the Stone?" Receiving a nod from Raiden he murmured, "Be careful round the Headmaster, he is a skilled Legilimens, as skilled as your master." Straightening up he continued in a normal tone, "You may go Mr Potter, I'm certain you have studying to do."

The wards were taken down and Raiden left, he needed to do some Herbology study, and his Astronomy project needed work as well. He'd also arranged for some Defence tutoring with Quirrell which translated to practicing the current spells wandlessly and wordlessly, despite his master's insistence on learning the spells normally first. After that he was supposed to meet Hermione in the library for some research on their Transfiguration. It was going to be a busy weekend.

A few days later, Raiden was feeling restless so he decided to test out his invisibility skills and go for a night wander. While he was wandering the corridors, he heard whispers from up ahead. Slowing his breathing and casting a spell to silence his footsteps, he slunk further up the corridor, keeping to the wall. He peered round the corner and spotted Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall carrying a large object into a room up ahead. It looked vaguely like some sort of arch. Raiden moved closer and as the door swung closed, he spotted the sheet covering the object slipping down. Quickly enhancing his eyesight with magic he saw that it was some type of mirror.

As Dumbledore and McGonagall left, Raiden noticed that they didn't lock the door. Curious, he moved to the door, after ensuring that the professors were nowhere in sight, or that they hadn't doubled back and become invisible like he was right now. He quickly examined the door, sensing no magic on the door, and no alarms that might give him away. Taking a deep breath he opened the door, and stepped into the room.

He turned round once he was fully inside, checking for hidden attackers. Finding no one, the young Slytherin relaxed. He stepped closer to the mirror, which was standing in a corner of the room. Walking up to it he saw words written on the top arch, words that looked very odd.

_Erised straeh ruoy tub ecaf ruoy ton wohs I _

Raiden frowned and quickly pulled out a quill and a scrap of parchment. He always kept some with him, for writing down random thoughts and notes if he needed to. He scribbled down the odd words, checking to see that he had the spelling right before pocketing both and leaving the room. He made a note of where the room was and the mirror with the writing on it, before turning himself invisible and heading back to the Slytherin dormitory. He would ask Daphne to help him with it later; the girl was a genius when it came to figuring out hidden codes and clues.

As it turned out he didn't get the chance to discuss the strange mirror with its odd writing with Daphne as the next day was Halloween. Raiden swallowed as he walked into the Great Hall, he couldn't help remembering that Halloween was the anniversary of his parents' deaths, and he was annoyed that no one else seemed to remember that. The staff was giving him slightly worried looks so maybe they did remember. The students though, didn't know, so they were laughing and exclaiming over the decorations. Raiden sat down at the table for dinner and moodily picked at his food, not really wanting to eat. A commotion over at the Gryffindor table drew his attention but only for a few minutes before he returned to his mangled pumpkin pie.

Up at the staff table, Snape and McGonagall were watching the Boy-Who-Lived with worried gazes, although in Snape's case it was well hidden. Finally Minerva turned to her colleague and said, "Severus, do you know what's bothering Mr Potter?"

Snape looked at the Head of Gryffindor and sneered before replying, "Think of the date Minerva, then think of what might be significant to Potter on this date besides Halloween?"

Minerva only took a moment to register the Slytherin's meaning. "Oh Merlin. James and Lily. It's the anniversary of their deaths."

"Precisely, Minerva, I have no doubt that the boy is thinking of that, and is not happy about the fact that everyone else seems to have forgotten. He'll get over it in time; we just need to keep an eye on him."

Snape did keep an eye on Raiden, and just as dessert was about to be served an interruption occurred in the form of Professor Quirrell. The Defence professor came running into the Great Hall screaming. Snape made out the words, "Troll, dungeon, quick" before the Professor collapsed on the floor in a faint. Knowing what he knew about his colleague, thanks to Raiden, he had to admire the man's acting skill.

The hall was in an uproar, as students screamed their heads off. Dumbledore stood up and let off a series of loud bangs from his wand.

"SILENCE!" Professor Dumbledore shouted. "Prefects please escort all students to their common rooms. Teachers, follow me to the dungeon."

Over the loud clattering of chairs being shifted and students' hysterical outbursts, Snape caught a few shouts of protest from the Slytherin table, and he agreed with what they were saying.

"Has he gone mad, has he forgotten that OUR common room is in the dungeons?" Daphne exclaimed furiously to Draco and Raiden. The two boys shrugged, neither having an answer for her. At that point Emma stood up.

"Right everyone, considering the danger is near our common room, we are heading for the library. We'll wait there till the danger is past and then we'll head downstairs." The Slytherins nodded and followed her.

They were two hallways away from safety when there was an awful smell from in front of them. The older students promptly placed themselves in front of the younger ones, wands out and ready to defend their younger housemates at any costs. Slytherins might not have bravery as a defining characteristic, but loyalty to their House was at the top of the list.

Raiden peered round Emma, having been behind her when they'd all stopped. He heard slow footsteps, and then a large form came into view, dragging a huge club. The troll stopped and looked round, its little eyes focusing on the group of students in front of it. Its dim little brain took a few minutes to process the fact that it had a group of enemies to confront, during which time the prefects had been ordering the rest of the House to slowly back up away from the huge beast.

The troll roared and charged, swinging its club and sending the front row of students flying. The seventh year prefects hit the wall with loud thuds, sliding down and lying still. The slight rise and fall of their chests told Raiden that they were alive, only knocked unconscious. The back row of students scattered, flying back the way they'd come, heading for the safety of the Slytherin common room. The rest of Slytherin house seriously considered following them. The only thing blocking that route was the fact that the troll was now between them and their common room.

Emma and the other senior students left, which was about half of the sixth years, as the seventh year Prefects were still unconscious and the rest of the senior students had fled with the younger ones to keep them as calm as possible, clustered round the three junior students left, which were Draco, Raiden and Daphne.

"Stunning spells at the ready," Emma hissed to the seniors, before saying to the three first years, "Try it if you like, incantation is Stupefy. Don't worry if you don't get results, it's a fourth year spell."

The troll had turned round and was lining up for another attack. As the club swung down at them they scattered to either side. It was bad luck that all the sixth years were on one side, while Emma, Draco, Daphne and Raiden were on the other. The sixth years looked at Emma, who hissed, "Go!" at them, as they had a clear path down the hall to safety. The sixth years raised their wands, and yelled "Stupefy!" as the troll stopped, wondering where it's prey had gone. Their spells combined with Emma's and the first year trio, producing a hail of red light. Draco, Daphne and Raiden had weaker spells as they hadn't officially learnt it yet, but they did get a jet of red light. Not that it did much good as the troll looked dazed for a minute before shaking it off.

The sixth years gave apologetic looks to Emma and the trio before dashing off. The four Slytherins left maneuvered carefully round the troll, looking for escape. Raiden cast a look at the still unconscious seventh years and then at the troll.

"Emma, we can't leave them there!" he hissed, indicating the unconscious students. Emma bit her lip in indecision before nodding and levitating one with a flick of her wand before pointing at Daphne. "Levitate Rookwood, and bring him with us. Come on you two!" she snapped, seeing Draco and Raiden staring at the troll. They made their way down the corridor, ahead of the troll who roared in anger and began chasing them. Hampered as they were by having to levitate the seventh years, Emma and Daphne couldn't stop the troll. Just at the entrance to the corridor, they met the staff, with Snape and McGonagall in the lead.

Snape took one look at the troll and then at his students. Raising his wand he snarled out, "Avada Kedavra!" The jet of green light shot at the troll and hit it at the dead centre of its forehead. The troll swayed and Snape threw another Avada Kedavra at it. The spell hit the same spot and this time the creature keeled over, not dead, just unconscious. Walking up to it, Snape looked down at it and then cast a cutting curse at its throat. It took several, full strength curses to do the job but eventually the thick skin was cut and the troll died.

Raiden was staring in shock at his Head of House. He couldn't get the image of the green light out of his mind. It was eerily similar to his dream memory of his parent's deaths. Snape saw his bemused and shocked look and came over to him. In a gentle tone of voice he enquired, "Is everyone alright?" Receiving shaky nods from the four conscious students he nodded back and then took charge of the two unconscious seventh years, floating them briskly to the infirmary. Once he'd delivered them into Madam Pomfrey's capable hands he returned to the Slytherin common room, where he found the students busy tucking into the remainder of the feast, namely dessert, with the exception of Raiden. Raiden was sitting apart from the others, staring sightlessly into the fire, not aware of his surroundings. He started when Snape placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Is there anything you want to talk about Mr Potter?" he enquired.

Raiden looked up at him and then slowly gathered his thoughts. Finally he spoke. "It's just that, well, when you killed that troll, the killing curse, it, it reminded me of my parents' deaths. This being Halloween and everything, well, it just brought everything back."

Snape raised an eyebrow. "I thought you knew about your parents' deaths Mr Potter, given who your master is?" He said this quietly so no other students would overhear. Raiden shot his Head of House an annoyed look.

"Yes I know how they died, but just because my position is what it is, doesn't mean that I'm not affected by it, nor does it mean that the sight of that particular curse doesn't affect me. I'm only eleven, Professor; my master does try to keep things age-appropriate you know." Raiden kept his voice low as well, mindful of the other students as well.

Snape nodded before replying, "Yes, Mr Potter, but try to understand, that curse was the only thing that would have disorientated it enough to get in close enough to kill it. I'm sorry you had to see it, but I was more concerned about saving your life and the life of your Housemates than keeping things age appropriate."

Raiden nodded and then said, "Thank you, Professor, I'm not sure what we would have done if you and the other professors hadn't shown up." Snape smirked and patted his shoulder before steering him over to the food, where Draco promptly shoved a bowl of trifle and chocolate cake at him. As the party swirled round him Raiden resolved to talk about the killing curse with his master later on, he couldn't keep having this reaction to it if he was ever to get his revenge on the Dursleys when he was older. For now though, he relaxed and allowed the stress of the near death experience to bleed away as he focused on being a normal eleven-year-old wizard.

Up in his office, Quirrell was pacing round, wondering how he was supposed to get the Philosopher's Stone when a bloody three-headed dog was guarding the entrance to the trap door that he needed to go down in order to retrieve it.

Dumbledore too, was pacing in his office though his thoughts were turned more to the brush with death that Raiden had experienced. His eyes turned to the invisibility cloak hanging on a peg in his office; he would need to give that to someone soon. He didn't feel happy about it going to Harry, yes the cloak was James' but Harry was a Slytherin.

'I'll decide about it later, right now I'm just happy that Harry's alive' the old wizard thought as he readied himself for bed. As the inhabitants of the castle settled down for sleep, the Mirror of Erised waited down below the castle, the Philosopher's Stone safe within it.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven: Mysteries and Deceit**

Raiden woke the next day feeling out of sorts and grumpy. He didn't like feeling unsure of himself and what he'd witnessed the previous night had shaken him badly. After a hasty breakfast he went in search of his mentor.

He found Professor Quirrell in his office. The man looked up as Raiden entered and swiftly cast the now standard locking and privacy charms that they used when they talked. Voldemort then took over his host's body and stared at his apprentice with some concern.

"What's wrong Raiden?" he queried.

Raiden looked at his master and then back at the floor from where he sat in his chair. Finally he looked back up at Voldemort and said, "Last night, when Professor Snape killed the troll, he used the Avada Kedavra curse twice to knock it out and then sliced it's throat with a cutting curse. Seeing the killing curse up close made me feel, I don't know, upset and worried. I shouldn't be like that though, how am I going to be a Dark Lord and stand by your side if I can't handle seeing it. How am I supposed to use it if I can't deal with seeing a troll be killed with it?"

Voldemort sat back in his chair and frowned. He hadn't considered this aspect of it, and was annoyed with himself for not doing so. He was also highly annoyed at Snape for doing it in front of the children; they shouldn't have had to see it. Finally he sat forward again and said, "Raiden, Professor Snape did the only thing he thought he could do in that situation. He was intent on saving your life and that of your companions. You're only eleven years old, it's expected that you have this sort of reaction to seeing a curse you've had bad experience with before. You'll grow out of it, I promise. Not all my followers use the Unforgivables, for example Professor Snape joined me because I allowed him to research certain potions that the Ministry have banned because they don't understand them. You are allowed to specialize you know. You would be my second in command, and eventually, my equal, and as such you wouldn't have to torture or kill people very often, it's mostly paperwork at our level you know. You'd only have to use the Unforgivables if you needed to bring someone back in line, and that would happen rarely."

Raiden looked somewhat happier at this. "I will need to learn them though won't I," he stated. Voldemort nodded, seeing no way of getting round that particular fact. Raiden sighed, and then shrugged. "OK Master. I'll just work on making myself less sensitive to that curse."

"You don't need to do that yet though. You won't be learning to cast them until your sixth or seventh year in fact, when your magic has matured and stabilized a bit more. You'll be learning them in the summers of those years of course as they won't teach them here. Just work on the spells you know, not all the curses you learn here are strictly for everyday things, the cutting curse for instance is quite deadly if used on someone's neck but they teach it anyway. Work on the things you're taught in class and don't worry about anything else for now. I want you to get the best education you can here, I can't teach you everything remember."

Raiden nodded, feeling more reassured now and stood, stretching for a moment. "Thanks Master, I feel better now. May I go; I have a small mystery that needs solving."

Voldemort nodded and watched his apprentice leave, before releasing control back to Quirrell. The DADA professor shivered once before returning to grading papers.

Raiden in the meantime had sought out Daphne and shown her the scrap of parchment where he'd written the odd phrase that was on the strange mirror. Daphne took a look at it, frowned, and then smirked before turning to him.

"Harry, you don't mean to say that you didn't see that it was written backwards?" she questioned.

Raiden blinked and then took a closer look at the writing before smacking himself in the head. "Of course, written backwards, I'm an idiot. Thanks Daph," he said, not realizing in his concentration that he'd shortened his friend's name. When he did he looked up hastily.

"Sorry, Daphne I wasn't thinking" he apologised.

Daphne had a strange look on her face. "No problem, Harry" she replied, wondering why she was allowing him to shorten her name when she usually allowed no one to do so. She couldn't explain it except that she felt comfortable around her fellow first year, comfortable in a way that she wasn't with the others. Harry just radiated a confidence and sense of security, even at the young age of eleven which appealed to her. He usually kept it controlled round the other students but with her and Draco he seemed to fully relax. Around anyone else, even Professor Snape, he was guarded and wary, but he seemed to be loosening up with regards to Snape.

Raiden was walking up to the Great Hall when he heard an argument up ahead. Walking closer, he automatically silenced his footsteps and regulated his breathing to move closer unseen so he could eavesdrop successfully.

"..Snape has to be the one," Ron Weasley was saying. He was with a group of Gryffindor first year boys who were all nodding agreement. Raiden frowned, Snape was the one what? Before he could hear more the Gryffindors moved away. Raiden was in a thoughtful mood as he walked towards the Slytherin table for lunch. As he watched Snape walking up to the head table he frowned again, was the man _limping_? That was out of character for their head of house for certain. Now the question was, why would he be limping?

After lunch he walked to the Potions classroom, hoping that Snape was in his office. Luck was with him, as his professor was indeed there, grading papers. The man looked up to see his most problematic student standing there and sighed.

"Mr Potter I assume you need to talk to me?" he asked.

Raiden nodded and sat down in one of the chairs. "Professor, I know it's none of my business, but, are you alright? I noticed you were limping at lunch and I wondered what was wrong."

Snape closed the door to his office and warded it securely. Looking at Raiden intently he said, "Thank you for your concern, Mr Potter, but I am fine. If you want to know, Quirrell went up to the third floor and I went to head him off. In the process I was bitten by that blasted three-headed dog."

Raiden frowned. "Why did you head him off Professor?" he enquired, wondering if his master's intuition regarding Snape was off.

Snape seemed to sense this because he frowned as well and replied, "Because I learnt something that Quirrell doesn't know. Quirrell will try to get the Stone but will fail. He only wants it for himself and that is not the way to get it successfully. I don't know what the correct way to get it is but that is why I stopped him."

"Do you want me to pass on the message?" Raiden asked.

Snape shook his head. "No, Potter, if our master hasn't retaliated in some way then he must be content to wait. Just continue as normal and don't give any indication that you know of this."

"Ok Sir. By the way, I think you should know that I overheard a conversation between a group of Gryffindor first years that included Weasley, talking about you and how you must be "the one", whatever that meant."

Snape smirked. "They might have seen me going to head Quirrell off and assumed that I am after the Stone. Just leave them be, ignore them. They have no idea of the truth and we will leave it that way understood?"

"Understood sir," Raiden replied before standing to leave.

Snape looked at him for a moment before saying, "Don't let this go to your head, Potter but you earned full marks on that Potions test last week. Well done."

Raiden bowed his head in thanks and left for a long day of lazing around with his friends and musing on what to do with Quirrell once he had the Stone and could assist his master with returning to a body.

A couple of months later it was coming up to Christmas and the sign up sheet went round so those who wanted to stay could indicate their interest in doing so. Raiden was in two minds about this, Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy had extended an invitation for him to spend Christmas with them and Draco but he also wanted to remain to keep an ear out for any happenings with Weasley and crew about the Stone. Finally he decided to leave with Draco as he would be returning in a week or two anyway and not a lot can happen in a week.

Raiden got several gifts over Christmas, including a lovely set of robes from Narcissa Malfoy and a set of journals from Lucius which would be useful if he needed to write down his thoughts and keep them private. They could be spelled so only Raiden could write in them and see the previous entries. Draco gave him a clasp for his robe, a silver snake with green emerald eyes.

Raiden himself had given gifts to all his friends, before he left for the holiday. Draco of course had brought his with him and smiled when he opened it. It was a new wizard chess set to replace the one that had finally given up on Draco a few days before term ended. Raiden had had a terrible time trying to figure out what to give Lucius and Narcissa so Draco helped him out, and they got a joint present for each of them which consisted of several rare wizarding texts that Lucius had been trying to get his hands on for ages, and subscriptions to all of Narcissa's favorite magazines for one year. The looks on the faces of the elder Malfoys was well worth the expense of the gifts Raiden thought with satisfaction.

When they were back at school, Raiden had gone for a night time wander when he heard scuffling noises nearby. He frowned, checked to see if he was still invisible and silenced and the moved closer. Seeing no one ahead but hearing heavy breathing he pressed himself against the wall and thought for a few minutes.

'Must be someone under an invisibility cloak' he thought. Silently he followed the noises, up to the Astronomy tower where the invisible person revealed themselves as Ron, Fred, and George Weasley and they had a baby dragon with them!

Raiden waited in the shadows until the three other students had completed their business and gone, and by a stroke of good fortune they left the invisibility cloak on the top of the tower. Checking to see there was no one around he picked up the cloak and read the name tag on the inside.

"James Potter," he muttered. "This was my father's cloak what the hell were those Weasels doing with it. Dumbledore must have had it in his possession and given it to them, when he should have given it to me! Oh well, it's mine now and I'm not telling anyone that I have it."

Still invisible and silenced, although he wrapped himself in the cloak both for extra security and also as a way of feeling closer to his father, he made his way back to Slytherin, hearing the dismayed voices of the Gryffindors, as well as the stern voice of Professor McGonagall berating them for being out of bed several corridors down from where he was. Taking a short cut he went round them and reached the safety of his bed soon after. Packing the cloak in the bottom of his trunk he got into bed and slipped off to sleep.

There was an uproar the next morning when the Gryffindors found out that they were down 300 points and as such were close to being in the negatives. McGonagall had taken 50 points from Ron and 125 each from Fred and George as they were older and should have known better. The Slytherins were delighted, it meant that Gryffindor would be out of the running for the House Cup for sure and they made sure to rub the Gryffindors' noses in it as often as they could. Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw stayed out of it though Raiden spotted Hermione looking scandalized that anyone would break the rules in such a manner. He grinned when she looked at him and she merely sniffed and turned away again.

With Gryffindor morale at an all time low the Slytherins took the lead in the both the House and Quidditch Cup races. In the midst of all this Raiden went looking for more information on the Philosopher's Stone and it was in doing this research that he stumbled upon a very valuable piece of information. It came from none other than the Headmaster himself.

Raiden was wandering round the library one day when he spotted Dumbledore by one of the shelves. Drifting over he examined the books and acted surprised when Dumbledore called his name.

"Harry, what are you doing in here, it's a lovely day to be outside," Dumbledore said kindly.

Raiden looked at the books again before replying, "Hermione mentioned something about a Philosopher's Stone and I was interested in learning more about it sir."

Dumbledore positively beamed at him, which made Raiden feel a bit sick. "Of course, Harry, of course. Have you found out anything about it?"

"Well, the only known Stone belongs to Nicholas Flamel and he's supposedly over 600 years old now. It can turn any metal into gold and produces the elixir of life," he said, seeing no harm in repeating public information.

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes well done, Harry, but why did you want to know about it?"

Here was the tricky part, how did Raiden tell Dumbledore that he knew what was being kept secret in the school without giving away his own secret. He finally decided on a mixture of truth and fiction.

"Well, you said that the third floor corridor was out of bounds sir, and Hagrid mentioned to my friend, Hermione, that he picked something up for you at Gringott's Bank before term started. There's something behind the door on the third floor corridor, some sort of animal that sounds like a huge dog from the growling noises. It has to be a guard of some kind. With the stone being able to grant immortality I can only think that you moved the stone to Hogwarts to keep it safe from Voldemort."

He prayed that Dumbledore accepted the story. Hermione had mentioned her conversation with Hagrid, so it was semi truthful. Dumbledore looked at him piercingly for a moment but his shields held and the old wizard didn't find anything out that Raiden didn't want him to. Finally Dumbledore nodded and said, "You're quite resourceful, Harry, and with a keen mind. Tell this to no one else, alright. I'll let you in on a little secret, what is being guarded is not the real Stone."

At Raiden's frown of puzzlement, Dumbledore put up a second strong privacy shield to stop eavesdroppers, even though they couldn't have heard anything through the first one anyway.

"It is a Philosopher's Stone dear boy but it is a flawed one, an experimental one if you will, that Nicholas made before he discovered the true one. The true Stone is safe under a Fidelius charm so no one but Nicholas knows the secret of where it is."

Raiden's mind was racing, if that Stone down below was flawed then what would happen if his master tried to use it? Hesitantly he voiced the question. "Sir, if Voldemort does get his hands on the Stone and uses it what would happen. Would he come back to life?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "No, Harry, he would be utterly destroyed, the Stone would destroy his soul and kill him for good."

"Oh, so we're safe then?" Raiden asked.

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes Harry quite safe. You have nothing to worry about. Run along now and study, you have exams coming up if I'm not mistaken."

Raiden nodded and left, thinking furiously about how to dissuade his master from going after the Stone. He didn't want to be the cause of his master's final demise after all, but Dumbledore was right, exams were looming and he needed to study for them.

A few weeks later, Raiden and his friends came out of their last exams to find Hermione waiting for them. The other Slytherins had reluctantly accepted Hermione and had mutually agreed to ignore the blood issue as Raiden was her friend and Ravenclaw wasn't a bad house to have friends in. The minute they saw her she started in on the exams only to have Draco hold up a weary hand.

"Hold on, Granger, we've just done the exams, we don't need a post mortem on them please. All that's doing is forcing us to doubt our answers and we need to stay positive, OK."

Hermione huffed but dropped the subject and they walked to the lake grinning when they heard Ron Weasley complaining about the hardness of the exams. The red head was a compulsive non-studier and it was no surprise that he found the exams hard. Hermione and the Slytherins had found them relatively easy, especially Potions and Transfiguration.

Free of classes for the weekend, Raiden practiced his wandless magic and spent the day lazily levitating and summoning objects, making them do cartwheels in the air and all sorts of other things. His friends knew about this ability of his and didn't question it, indeed, they'd been asking Raiden to help them learn it which he'd been happy to do. The result was a small group of Slytherins and one Ravenclaw who could do small spells without their wands, and this was particularly useful for a number of small pranks, such as moving objects out of reach when their owners needed them, or floating them round the room and watching the observers try to figure out how the objects were floating when no one had their wands out. It was entertaining.

A week later, Raiden heard something disturbing when he was eavesdropping on the Gryffindor first year boys which had become a source of entertainment and information for him. Why spy himself when fairly accurate information could be obtained by nosy and loud mouthed, careless Gryffs? No point. The information this time however caused him to go to Professor Snape. It was time to put that information from Dumbledore into play.

But Professor Snape was not in his office, nor his classroom. In desperation, Raiden reached through the fledgling bond that he had with his master and tried to reach him, but Voldemort wasn't listening to him. It was no good; if Raiden wanted to prevent his master's destruction then he would have to go himself.

Quickly putting on his invisibility cloak he slipped out of the dormitory, telling Draco that he had an urgent errand to run. He said if he wasn't back in half an hour for Draco to send Professor Snape up to the third floor corridor. Then he ran for it before his friends could stop him from going which was what they wanted to do.

Once he got to the third floor corridor Raiden slowed down and calmed himself. It was time to get the false Stone and prevent his master from destroying himself in the quest for immortality.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight: The Philosopher's Stone and the Beginning of Summer**

Raiden calmed himself as he stood outside the third floor corridor door. He took a breath and then opened the door, moving into the room and sideways along the wall. Once inside he closed the door and observed his surroundings.

The monstrous dog that was guarding the entrance to where he would have to go was currently asleep thanks to a magical harp that was playing a soothing melody. Raiden looked at the harp, then at the dog, and shrugged before moving the dog's paw off the trapdoor and opening it. His senses registered the end of the music and the dog waking up just in time.

Hearing the growl from above him Raiden jumped into the dark hole, feeling wind move above him as massive jaws snapped shut on the space where his head had been minutes before. Shivering inwardly he smiled when he landed on a large soft plant.

'Wait, large soft plant that moves and restrains you?' he thought as the plant moved to entangle him. He relaxed and thought for a second, not wanting to panic. He wasn't one of the top students in his year for nothing, as he remembered from his Herbology exam what the plant was.

'It's Devil's Snare, hates the light, likes dark and damp. Well I know how to get out of this' he thought with a smirk just as he sent a very powerful Incendio charm at the heart of his enemy. The plant shrieked in agony as it turned to ash in seconds. Dusting himself off, Raiden moved through the room he found himself in until he came to the next room which was full of fluttering objects. Frowning, Raiden moved over to the other door, seeing as the one he'd entered through had slammed shut behind him.

'Looks like there's no way back, only forward' he thought. He tried to open the door he was in front of only to glare at it when he saw it was locked. Looking carefully at the lock he took note of what it looked like and then he knew what the fluttering objects were.

'You IDIOT they're keys!' he snarled to himself before taking one of the brooms by the wall and flying off after the right key. He knew he was searching for a silver, old fashioned one and spotted one with a bent wing that looked like what he was looking for. After about 5 minutes he grew fed up and just summoned it. Key in hand he flew down to the door, with all the rest of the keys following him like a lot of silver and brass bees.

He hurriedly opened the door, threw himself through and then closed it, hearing the multiple thuds as the keys buried themselves in the other side of the door. Turning round he breathed deeply for a few minutes, taking in his narrow escape from the demented keys of doom as he privately called them. Taking a step forward he narrowed his eyes as a huge chess board came into sight.

"Hmm, well, Sprout was the Devil's Snare, Hagrid was Fluffy, we had the keys which were Flitwick, now this, this must be McGonagall. Only Snape and Dumbledore left after this, I hope Master hasn't figured out the way to get the stone yet. Now how do I get out of this?"

Walking forward he found that he had to play the game in order to get across. The pieces were explosion proof as the young Dark Apprentice found out to his chagrin. His original plan had been to blast the pieces into rubble and go on his way. With that out of the question he had to use his chess skills to get through.

Now, Raiden had been taught to play chess by Draco and while he wasn't a stellar player, he was good enough. Taking a position as a Knight on the Black side and snickering when he thought of explaining to Voldemort that he had destroyed the Light Side in a chess game, he played the game, and won although not without a few hair raising escapes from danger. Finally though he got through and got to the Potions challenge.

"OK, well this is obviously Professor Snape's contribution, now how the hell do I get through this one," Raiden mused out loud. As he moved over to the table which held seven bottles and a piece of parchment, he heard flames erupting behind and in front of him. Frowning he looked up to see flames guarding both his exit and his way back.

"This won't do at all," he growled as he returned his attention to the parchment, swiftly gathering all the pertinent information from it. He then studied the row of bottles.

"The parchment says that two are wine, three are poison, one will get me back and one will move me forward. I need to figure out the riddle in order to get the right one."

Thinking about it carefully he finally admitted that he wasn't all that good at logic problems and decided to cheat. Looking round he spotted a spider scurrying along the wall. He summoned it with wandless magic and enlarged it so he could see the effects. After that he duplicated it so he had more than one test subject and fed the first spider a few drops of the first bottle.

Writhing in pain, the spider died horribly. Raiden raised an eyebrow. "Nasty. OK that one isn't it." He duplicated the remaining spider and then carried on. Finally he had the right bottle and held it up.

"Cheers, Professor," he said as he drained the contents. He felt a brief icy sensation in the pit of his stomach but walked forward through the flames guarding the way forward. Once he was through, he grinned in triumph and threw the bottle away.

"Now what? Oh yes, Dumbledore's protection. Hopefully Master hasn't figured it out yet."

Walking forward cautiously, he automatically silenced his footsteps and slowed his breathing, not becoming invisible but staying in the shadows which made him harder to spot. He peered round a corner to see a large room with the strange mirror in the centre of it. Quirrell was standing in front of it, muttering about getting the Stone. Raiden's eyes narrowed as he stepped forward into the light, so he could be seen clearly.

"Ah, Raiden, good of you to join us," Voldemort hissed having taken over Quirrell's body again. "I trust you've worked out the secret of this mirror so we can get the stone and I can have my body back?"

Raiden frowned. "I think I know what the mirror is, Master, but I haven't got the foggiest idea how to get the Stone out. You don't want to use it anyway."

Voldemort looked displeased. "Why don't I want to use it Raiden? If I didn't know better I'd say you came here with the express purpose of stopping me."

Raiden swallowed before saying calmly, "I did, Master. When you hear my reason though you'll understand, I hope."

Voldemort narrowed his eyes and hissed "Continue," in a menacing tone.

"I got some information from the old coot in the guise of doing research on the Stone. He told me that the stone in the mirror is not the real thing; it's an experimental, failed version which will kill the person that tries to use it, and utterly destroy their soul. I wanted to stop you before you engineered your own demise."

Voldemort frowned. "Get the stone from the mirror and I'll see if your words are true. Dumbledore could be playing a trick on you."

Raiden moved forward and looked into the mirror. He blinked as a vision of himself as an adult, standing next to Voldemort, swam into view. The mirror image of him smirked as Raiden thought 'I need the stone, I need to find the stone,' and then Raiden felt a heavy weight in his pocket.

Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a largish blood red stone, about the size of his fist. He examined it closely before finding the flaw.

"Dumbledore wasn't lying, Master, it is flawed. See this crack down the middle. The stone needs to be whole and perfect in order to work right."

Voldemort took the stone from his apprentice and examined it carefully. He snorted. "There's one way to test this," he said matter of factly before withdrawing from Quirrell's body and becoming the ghost form that Raiden was more acquainted with.

Quirrell shook his head before fixing on the stone that Raiden now held, as Voldemort's ghost form couldn't hold a physical object. Face screwed up in greed he approached the young wizard.

"GIVE ME THE STONE!" he yelled. Raiden shook his head and backed away, reaching for his wand. Quirrell moved fast though, and was on top of Raiden in seconds. As his hands wrapped round the eleven-year-old's throat he screamed and pulled away, looking at his burned hands in disbelief.

Seeing a way to destroy the traitor, Raiden lunged, wrapping one hand round Quirell's throat and the other landed squarely on his face. Then he held on grimly as Quirrell tried desperately to shake him off. This continued until the traitorous Professor had quite literally been burnt to ashes.

Raiden picked up the stone and was just about to leave when there was the sound of running footsteps. Dumbledore and Snape burst onto the scene seconds later. Voldemort concentrated briefly and forced himself to assume a non threatening appearance. He wanted to be able to watch over his apprentice without Dumbledore knowing who he really was for the moment. Raiden smiled at the two older wizards and held up the stone saying, "It's safe. Voldemort didn't get to it."

"What about Quirrell?" Dumbledore asked.

Raiden frowned. "He attacked me but my touch burned him to dust. How'd it do that?"

"You don't need to know that now, Harry, just know that it is a good thing that that happened. Was Voldemort possessing him?"

"He left when Quirrell died, Professor. Can I go to sleep now?"

Snape moved forward to catch him just as Raiden fainted. Voldemort floated up beside the Potions Master and hovered beside him as Raiden was lifted into his arms. Dumbledore noticed this and frowned.

"Who might you be?" he asked coolly.

Voldemort looked startled for a moment before replying, "My name is Orion. You might call me young Mr Potter's guardian angel of sorts. I've been watching over him ever since he was left with his relatives."

"I would have noticed your presence," Dumbledore said, not quite willing to believe Voldemort's story.

"Orion" widened his eyes slightly. "Please, Headmaster, I mean Mr Potter no harm, in fact I've helped him out of several predicaments with his relatives. Why would I do that if I meant him harm? I merely wish to accompany him to the hospital wing to assure myself that he's well taken care of. Tonight has been stressful for him."

Dumbledore examined the ghost carefully before nodding. "You may accompany Mr Potter and Professor Snape up to the hospital wing, Mr Orion. May I assume you will be staying with Mr Potter?"

Voldemort shrugged. "I'll be here if he needs me. I'm not around all the time you know. At his relatives, yes, because they'd starve and beat him if I wasn't. But here he's relatively safe, if you don't count running after maniacal Dark Lord wannabes like Quirrell."

Dumbledore nodded and then signaled for Snape to take Raiden to the hospital wing. Snape complied and Voldemort floated after them. Dumbledore was left in the chamber, wondering what it was about Orion that made him feel uneasy. Shrugging it off he climbed the stairs and left the mirror of Erised where it was. The stone he carefully destroyed.

At the end of the year feast, Dumbledore stood to make his announcements. Raiden had recovered well, and Voldemort had quietly thanked him for the course of action he had taken, although he stated it was embarrassing for Raiden to have fainted at the end. Raiden had retorted that he'd expended all his energy and needed the rest. Professor Snape had made no comment at the banter, although his eyebrows were raised and when Voldemort had disappeared, he looked thoughtfully at Raiden.

The Slytherins were in a fine mood, Gryffindor were in last place for the House Cup, while Slytherin had won not only the Quidditch cup but were about to win the House Cup as well. They quieted and looked expectantly at Dumbledore.

Dumbledore cleared his throat and began. "The end of another year and what an eventful one it has been. I'm sure you've all learnt a lot and are eager to get back home so your brains can be emptied and ready to be filled with next year's work. For our seventh years, we will be sad to see you go, but we wish you well. For all returning years, have fun over the summer.

Now onto the House Cup. In last place, we have Gryffindor, with two hundred and seventy five points. In third place, Hufflepuff with three hundred and fifty points. In second place Ravenclaw with four hundred and twenty points. And in first place Slytherin with four hundred and eighty points. Well done Slytherin."

The Hall exploded with cheering from the Slytherins and polite clapping from the other houses. Gryffindor sulked and Ron Weasley in particular glared at Raiden and his friends with hatred. Raiden merely turned round and waved mockingly which infuriated the red head even more.

Soon their trunks were all packed and they were on the way home. Raiden was silent and his friends wanted to know why. Draco sat down opposite the brooding Raiden while Daphne sat next to him. There was silence for a few minutes and then Raiden asked, "Daphne, why are you stroking my hair?"

Daphne looked not in the least bit embarrassed as she replied, "You looked tense and upset, Harry, and I've found that when I'm in that sort of mood, someone stroking my hair helps me out of it. I was hoping it would work for you too."

Raiden smiled slightly. "It does to a certain extent, Daph but I'm just depressed because I hate going home. It's not even really my home, it's just the house that I am grudgingly allowed to live in by my relatives. I wish I could stay here but that's not possible."

Draco looked thoughtful. "I'll talk to Father, Harry; maybe we can spring you from there for part of the summer at least. And if not, we can always meet in Diagon Alley. What about you Daphne?"

The girl nodded. "I might not be able to offer you the prospect of a visit, Harry, but I can say that I will owl you at least once each week, maybe more if I feel like it. Send that owl of yours, Salazar, for some exercise. And for Merlin's sake, train him not to bite people that want him to deliver mail will you. You'd think he was the Dark Lord in owl form the way he acts sometimes."

Raiden fought the snort of laughter that welled up inside him and failed. The image of his master as an owl, with black feathers, a forked tongue and malignant red eyes had crossed his mind and he couldn't get rid of it. The three friends laughed for a while before sobering up as the snack trolley came round.

At the end of the train ride they got off and grabbed their trunks. Raiden had already shrunk his and put it in his pocket. He let Salazar go with a request to fly to Privet Drive and make himself hidden in the trees. Salazar hooted and gently nibbled on Raiden's ear. Raiden was the only one that Salazar would be nice to; all others had to watch out for his talons or beak, or even both. With those taken care of, he walked through the barrier, to see Vernon, Petunia and Dudley waiting for him.

Sneering at them, he turned and said goodbye to his friends and their parents, noticing Daphne's father giving him an assessing look when Daphne hugged him and he hugged her back. It was a friendly hug, nothing more, but Raiden felt a bit unsettled at Daphne's father's reaction. Shrugging it off as her father being overprotective he left with his relatives, not seeing Draco's worried gaze behind him.

When he got back to Privet Drive, he walked upstairs to his room, and noticed lots of locks on the door. He found himself shoved roughly through the door and then it closed behind him. As he tried to turn the handle he heard the sounds of the multiple locks clicking into place and he realized that the muggles had completely locked him in.

Snarling, he yelled, "LET ME OUT YOU BLOODY BASTARDS!!!!" along with quite a few other swear words that had Voldemort growling at him mentally. Raiden banged on the door a few more times and then sat down heavily on the bed.

"At least I still have my trunk so I can do my homework," he growled. At that point Voldemort materialized and scowled at him.

"Raiden, I realize that the situation is not ideal but the language you used just now has me wishing that I could hold a wand again."

Raiden glanced warily at his master before asking, "What for?"

Voldemort glared at him. "So I could properly wash your mouth out! That language was vile even for me and I'm a Dark Lord! Kindly refrain from such language in the future please."

Raiden shrugged. "OK, Master, but really, what's next, bars on the fuc, uh windows?"

Voldemort shrugged. "Have you forgotten your wandless magic, apprentice? You can unlock doors with it you know."

Raiden stared at Voldemort in disbelief and then groaned, before smacking himself on the head. "You're right, Master, I'm an idiot. I forgot that wandless magic can't be traced. Now, I need to send a letter to Draco and Daphne, telling them of the situation. Am I to continue my martial arts lessons, Master?"

"If you wish to then certainly. However, it may be difficult to pick up where you left off. Certainly do running and other stuff to keep yourself in shape, but practice your magic as well. Don't forget your homework."

"No, Master, I won't forget that," Raiden sighed as he unshrunk his trunk and put it on the floor. A wandless unpacking charm had everything unpacked and neatly put away in minutes, although Raiden spent the rest of the time that evening doing a general tidy up of the room and getting rid of the broken down stuff that Dudley had thrown in there over the years. It took him a while but eventually his room was clean and he settled into bed tired but relatively happy, knowing that he could leave the room any time he wanted, even though the muggles had locked him in. A quiet hoot over by his window woke him and he waved his hand lazily, opening it so his owl could swoop in and settle on his perch. Another hand wave closed the window again and peace descended on Privet Drive.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine: Diagon Alley and the Start of Second Year**

Raiden scowled as he made his way up Diagon Alley to get his books for his second year at Hogwarts. He hadn't been sprung from Privet Drive like Draco had promised, so he'd used his wandless magic to entertain himself with the Dursleys that summer. It had been amusing to scare the living daylights out of them but boring after a few days as well.

Voldemort had stepped up to fill the gap so to speak and had worked his apprentice hard, expanding his knowledge of spells and also having him practice the ones he'd learnt last year but not got down wandlessly. Now he could do all the first year spells wandlessly which had made Voldemort extremely pleased.

Voldemort had told him that he would be doing some research on how to get his body back through the school year but that if Raiden needed him all he had to do was call mentally and Voldemort would come to him. Raiden had shrugged and agreed. At twelve years old he didn't really need his master following him round all the time, and he got enough daily contact during the summer anyway. He did need time to be himself at school, so Voldemort took the opportunity to research ways of coming back.

Raiden was brought out of his thoughts when he heard a familiar female voice call out, "Hey Harry, there you are."

Looking up Raiden smiled before replying, "Daphne, how are you. Did you have a nice summer?"

Daphne looked confused. "I sent you letters telling you about it. What happened to them?"

Raiden looked at her in confusion. "Letters? I never got any letters, from either you or Draco. Come to think of it Hermione didn't write me either and she said she would." Raiden noted a slight tension in Daphne at the mention of Hermione but shrugged it off as some weird female competition thing.

"That's odd. Is that why you were scowling as you walked up the alley?"

Raiden nodded, his bad mood evaporating at the knowledge that his friends had written him but the letters had somehow disappeared in transit as it were. Shrugging again he said, "Shall we find Draco and get our stuff. I've heard the Defence teacher this year is a real Lockhart fan."

Daphne giggled. "If we're lucky we might get Lockhart himself, he's so clever and brave."

Raiden rolled his eyes. "Come on, Daph, the man has no brains whatsoever, he's an idiot. I wouldn't be surprised if he stole the credit for all those "adventures" of his from other people."

Daphne gave her friend an annoyed look. "Really, Harry do you have to be so pessimistic? He'll be good you'll see."

Raiden seriously doubted this but followed along to Flourish and Blott's with no further comment. There they found Draco who was very surprised that none of his letters had got to Raiden. He promised to investigate it and Raiden promptly forgot his annoyance with his friends.

The three friends had to fight against the crowd of witches in the store who were there to get their books signed by Gilderoy Lockhart. Riaden rolled his eyes at the blond idiot and purchased his books from the main counter behind the wizard. With their books purchased the three left the store without Raiden being accosted by Lockhart which he'd secretly feared.

Once outside they wandered to the apothecary to pick up more potions supplies, and then went on to Madam Malkins to get new robes for school. All of them had grown since first year and needed new robes. They also got some casual robes as well.

With their shopping completed, Draco headed for Quality Quidditch supplies, dragging Raiden with him. Daphne rolled her eyes and followed, muttering "Boys!" under her breath. When they reached their destination, Draco was positively drooling over the Nimbus 2001 broomstick in the window. Raiden looked bored, he liked Quidditch well enough but he didn't like to fly the way Draco did. He did well in flying lessons, and liked to dive from heights but had refused all attempts to make him into a future Seeker. When told that his father had played Quidditch and he had to carry on the tradition, Raiden had exploded and told the interfering person that he was not his father and to cease bothering him about the issue. All the other Slytherins had backed off as well, realising that Raiden was content to just be a supporter, and to fly occasionally for fun.

When they walked out of the shop they were accosted by Ron Weasley. The red head was looking at them with an ugly expression. "Hey Malfoy, Potter. What are you doing in there, planning something to humiliate Gryffindor?"

Raiden looked at Draco, and then smirked, seeing Lucius just behind Ron. Raising his eyebrows, Raiden yawned before saying smoothly, "Actually we were just admiring the new broom, Weasley. The thought of humiliating Gryffindor didn't even cross our minds, however, you've just given me a brilliant idea."

Walking into the store again he asked, in a loud enough voice for Ron to hear, "How much would seven of those Nimbus 2001's cost sir?" The amount that came back was expensive but not out of reach and Raiden came back out, smirking.

He inclined his head towards Lucius, who had caught onto his plan quickly. The man smirked as well, and stepped forward saying in a voice as smooth as Raiden's had been, "I suggest you leave, Weasley, your family would probably have to go hungry for three months to pay for even half the twigs in the end of the broom, much less one whole broom."

Turning to face Draco and his friends he smiled slightly and said, "Shall we go, Miss Greengrass, Mr Potter? I find that the air here has suddenly acquired the most dreadful smell."

Snickering slightly, Daphne and Raiden followed Lucius and Draco back towards the Leaky Cauldron, carrying their purchases in their hands. Once they were safely inside, Lucius turned to Raiden.

"I was disappointed to not be able to have you over for the summer, Mr Potter. Draco was as well. Did you not get our invitation?"

Raiden shook his head. "I'm afraid that your letters must have somehow been intercepted, Mr Malfoy. I've received no letters from any of my friends this summer and I don't know why. I've been sending Salazar with letters but he's come back each time looking ruffled and upset."

Lucius frowned. "Hmm, I'll look into it, Mr Potter. It is indeed most strange that this should have occurred. Do you have to be somewhere in particular or do you have some free time?"

Raiden frowned. "My uncle is expecting me back, Mr Malfoy, but I would like to talk to you at some later point."

"Is it about that little idea you had outside Quality Quidditch Supplies?" Lucius asked with a faint smile. Raiden nodded.

"Yes sir but I'd need to discuss it in private," Raiden replied.

Lucius inclined his head. "Very well, Mr Potter, I'll be available tomorrow if you wish to set a time. I can give you a Portkey to Malfoy Manor so we can discuss your idea and so that you can spend time with Draco before you both go back to school."

Raiden smiled. "I'd like that sir, thank you."

Lucius smirked and then quietly made a small medallion into a Portkey before giving it to Raiden. "Password is Freedom," he said quietly before leaving with Draco. Raiden was left to contemplate his upcoming day vacation from his relatives.

Smirking, he returned home from London, once again being driven grudgingly around by his uncle. The Dursleys, hadn't locked Raiden in his room since he'd proved that he could unlock his door with magic, and that it couldn't be traced. Since then they'd been much more accommodating to their unwelcome relative although still unkind and not generally helpful to him.

Voldemort smirked as he sneaked up on his apprentice. Raiden was getting better at sensing his surroundings but he still needed some work. They also conversed almost exclusively in Parseltongue to give Raiden practice at using it when not around a real snake and the young wizard was now almost as fluent in it as he was in English, although it was a talent that Voldemort warned him to keep hidden as most of the wizarding world would look down on him for it. Raiden had agreed and had faithfully kept it secret apart from his friends who knew about it. Since they never spoke of it, it was unlikely that the information would become public knowledge.

Raiden sighed and checked to see that he had his trunk with him. Lucius had sent his house elf, Dobby to tell him that if he wished, he was more than welcome to stay the remaining days until September First at Malfoy Manor. With his trunk and all other magical items with him, Raiden held the Portkey and said, "Freedom."

He landed in a large sitting room, where Draco and Lucius were waiting for him. He was embarrassed that he'd landed on the floor but accepted the hand up from Draco. Looking round, he sat down in the chair that Lucius indicated to him.

"Well, how have your holidays been so far, Harry, apart from the mysterious disappearing mail?" Lucius asked.

Raiden smiled. "They've been pretty good sir, and I'm looking forward to second year a lot. Any excuse to get away from those muggles is good."

"I can imagine," Lucius replied before settling back in his chair. "Pumpkin juice, Harry?" he offered. Once the refreshments had been handed out Draco entered the conversation.

"Come on, Harry; tell me what your idea was. Why did you ask what seven Nimbus brooms would cost?"

Raiden looked at Draco in disbelief. "I thought you were smart, Draco," he said teasingly, smirking at the annoyed look his friend gave him. Seeing that the younger Malfoy was going to explode if he didn't explain, he sighed.

"How many players are there on a Quidditch team, Draco?" he asked.

Draco looked confused at the question but answered, "Seven, why?"

"And what were we talking about when Weasley interrupted us?"

"Ways to humiliate Gryffindor this year. I still don't get what you're getting at, Harry."

Lucius entered the conversation again, saying, "Really Draco, you're planning on trying out for Seeker this year aren't you?"

"Yes, Father, I am, but, ohh I get it now," Draco said with an evil gleam in his eyes. Turning to Raiden he smirked and said, "You're not playing yourself but you want Slytherin to win and giving the whole team the best brooms available would ensure that outcome."

Raiden nodded. "Finally. Yes that's right."

Draco nodded, thoroughly pleased at this. "How are the team going to get the brooms though?" he asked. Raiden looked thoughtful.

"Well, that's where your father comes in," he replied. Looking at Lucius he continued, "I was hoping that we could split the cost of the brooms between us, so I could feel that I was contributing towards Slytherin's good fortune on the pitch even though I don't actually play."

Lucius nodded. "And having Harry Potter buying the best available brooms for the Slytherin team when it's well known that your parents were Gryffindors would shock and humiliate the students of that House, not to mention Professor McGonagall. I'm amenable to this idea, shall we say a seventy/thirty split? That way you don't have to drain your trust fund as you won't be able to access your family vault until you're of age."

Now Raiden was looking at Lucius in confusion. "Family vault sir?" he queried.

Lucius looked shocked, and then annoyed. "You mean you don't know that you have a family vault?" he asked. Raiden shook his head.

"No sir, I thought the vault I was taken to in first year was it, and it was full of galleons so I didn't think beyond that. It seems I was wrong."

Lucius nodded sharply. "You don't need to know much beyond the basics at the present moment, Harry, but just know that all the pureblood families have a family vault, and the Potters, as one of the old families, are extremely wealthy. Your vault that you mentioned is most likely a trust vault set up by your parents to pay for your education and whatever else you wish to buy during your childhood. Once you reach the age of majority you will gain full access to your family vault and take control of the family finances."

Raiden nodded in understanding. "Who has control of my finances now then?" he asked curiously.

Lucius frowned thoughtfully. "Hmm, well, your magical guardian would have control of your trust vault but they can't access your family vault. This prevents any unscrupulous trustee taking all the wealth before you reach seventeen. Draco can teach you the basics while you're at Hogwarts this year if you'd like?"

Raiden nodded again, assimilating this new information. "Yes sir I'd like that," he responded.

Lucius smiled and then said, "Well, now that that's settled, I'll go and arrange the brooms while you two have fun."

With that he left and the two boys were left staring at each other. Finally Draco shook himself out of the staring match and jumped up, saying, "Come on, I'll give you a tour. Have you brought your trunk?"

Draco and Raiden spent the last few days before the first of September generally relaxing and having fun. A day before they were due to leave, Lucius caught them in the entrance hall.

"Draco, Harry there you are. I just thought you'd like to know that the broomstick purchase went off without a hitch. To celebrate I thought you'd both like these" and he pulled out two Nimbus 2001's and presented them to the boys.

Draco grabbed his immediately but Raiden was unsure. Seeing this, Lucius said softly, "Harry, it's alright. I know you don't play but if you and Draco are going to fly together for fun then you need to be able to keep up with him. Besides, we split the cost of the brooms remember, so this one came out of your share of the cash."

Raiden thought about it and then grinned, reaching forward to take the broom. "Thank you sir, it's brilliant" he said with a grin. He and Draco promptly took off, relishing the speed of the brooms and then Draco gave a strangled yelp of horror as his precious watch fell off his wrist.

"My watch!" he yelped as he saw it plummeting toward the lake. Raiden didn't think twice, he pulled the broom round, and dove after it, not seeing Draco and Lucius staring at him in shock as he caught the watch a bare few centimeters from the surface of the lake and pulled up hard, swerving away so he was hovering over grass and not water.

Draco flew down to him, his jaw hanging open. "Merlin, Harry, and you say you don't want to play Quidditch? Ignoring the strap for a minute, the Snitch isn't that much smaller than my watch. We could both try out, you know I'm better at Chaser than Seeker and imagine how much fun it would be to beat Weasley at yet another thing."

Raiden smirked. "Yes but if Weasley is chosen for Seeker the season'll be pretty boring. Remember Transfiguration, about halfway through last year?"

"You mean the lesson where Weasley puts his wand on his perfectly empty desk and then spends the next ten minutes looking for it?" Draco enquired before bursting into laughter. "I can see why you might find that a boring challenge but Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw have pretty decent seekers. Plus, everyone thinks second years aren't much of a challenge so you'll be our secret weapon so to speak."

Raiden smirked and then replied. "I suppose so. OK Draco I'll try out for Seeker and you can try for Chaser. Maybe we can persuade Blaise and Daphne as well, they like playing Chaser. That way we've got a young team who can improve with age."

"Like a good wine," Draco snorted before they fell over laughing again. "It's brilliant. I like it. All we have to do now is suggest it to my two unaware teammates and then beat the incumbents. Shouldn't be too hard."

The next day was noisy and hectic as they got to King's Cross and got on the train. Draco and Raiden claimed a compartment immediately and it wasn't long before Daphne and Blaise joined them. The four second years promptly locked the door and began discussing their plan to take over the Quidditch team.

Halfway through the ride they unlocked the door to admit Emma and Aaron, the two seventh year Prefects. They had been looking for somewhere to sit and were welcomed enthusiastically, joining in the discussion on Quidditch with ease and heartily approving of their plan.

It was only when they reached Hogsmeade that Raiden noticed something odd. "Hey did any of you guys see the Weasel at all on the journey?" Head shakes met his question and he frowned. "Odd. Perhaps he missed the train."

Draco shrugged and pulled Raiden towards one of the waiting carriages. He got in, along with his future team mates and they set off to Hogwarts for their second year.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten: Howlers, DADA and Quidditch**

Raiden woke on Monday morning with a sense that things were going to go wrong today. He didn't know what, but he sensed that it would somehow involve the idiot of a DADA teacher, Gilderoy Lockhart. Groaning, he got up and dressed, before going up to the great hall for breakfast with Draco and Daphne. The three of them, with the addition of Blaise Zabini made an interesting quartet, and they were fast becoming close friends.

Halfway through breakfast Draco nudged Raiden and indicated the Gryffindor table to him. Raiden turned irritably and said, "Why do I have to look at the Gryffindorks this early, Draco, it'll ruin my appetite."

"No it won't, it might give you a laugh though," was the reply. Seeing Raiden's raised eyebrow, Draco elaborated, "Weasel's shown up, and his family owl just landed in front of him with a Howler."

"What's a Howler?" Raiden asked, just before an explosion of sound occurred over at the lions table. Half covering his ears, Raiden could still clearly hear the shouted words and when his mind put two and two together he almost choked on his porridge.

"Merlin, Weasel flew a car to Hogwarts? That's suicidal, what about the statute of secrecy?" he said before joining his friends, and most of the hall in laughing at Ron, who had turned tomato red with embarrassment.

Shaking his head, Raiden finished his breakfast and headed off to class. The first day was fairly light, Potions with Gryffindor, where Raiden took the opportunity to have a few digs at Ron over the Howler, mostly comparing Mrs Weasley to a banshee. Professor Snape then took an even total of one hundred points from Gryffindor throughout the lesson for Ron's "inability to concentrate" even when it was Raiden provoking him.

Following Potions was Transfiguration where Raiden again used his visualization trick to do the complete transformation. Like Professor McGonagall had said in first year though, it was harder to do although still manageable. Raiden resigned himself to having to possibly learn the hard way as he continued up the school although he would try and keep doing it his way as long as possible though. That lesson was transforming animals into water goblets and Raiden got it correct the second time he did it, as his first attempt gave him a water goblet with wings.

Then came lunch and a free period, which Raiden used to go over his notes for Potions and Transfiguration and start his homework in those subjects while his friends were relaxing. Once the free period was over the last lesson of the day commenced, DADA with Gilderoy Lockhart.

They walked into the room and sat down, seeing a test paper in front of them, face down. Blaise leaned over and nudged Daphne, but his whisper of "A test the first day? What's the git trying to pull on us?" was audible to both Draco and Raiden who nodded in agreement.

"I think it might be to test our current knowledge level which would be a good thing for a new teacher to do I suppose," Raiden muttered back. Shaking his head he added, "Although if it's on those books of his I'm going to fail miserably as I was almost sick from reading all the crap that's contained in their pages."

Draco and the rest of the quartet laughed quietly before sobering up as Lockhart entered the room in a pretentious swirl of robes with a smile so bright that Raiden considered bringing sunglasses to class so he could see without going blind. Shaking his head he turned the test paper over and almost threw up his breakfast.

Instead of Defence related questions, it read like a test out of a trashy magazine. Raiden read the page, his eyebrows going higher and higher. Turning to his friends Raiden saw identical looks of disgust on Draco and Blaise's faces but was shocked to see Daphne industriously scribbling answers on her test. The look of near bliss on her face surprisingly made Raiden somewhat jealous, although he didn't know why. He didn't feel that way when she talked to Draco or Blaise.

Shaking his head, he started writing nonsense answers to the questions, answers designed to purposefully infuriate the dimwitted idiot that they had to call Professor.

_What is Gilderoy Lockhart's secret ambition? _To grow a brain.

_What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite colour? _White, to match the inside of his perfectly empty skull.

_What would Gilderoy Lockhart's ideal birthday gift be?_ A set of instructions on how not to be a total git.

The questions went on and on and Raiden had fun thinking up the most insulting things he could think of to answer them. When the test finished he handed in the paper and then thought of Defence related things while the man read through the papers. To his horror, he realized that having to answer such drivel had numbed his brain to the point where it couldn't think of Defence at all, even first year stuff seemed to have flown out of the filing cabinet in his brain where he kept it.

Raiden shook his head and then sent a truly lethal looking glare at the man that was doing his best to kill off Raiden's love for the subject. Draco and Blaise were doing the same but Daphne and the rest of the girls were batting their eyelashes at Lockhart and seemed annoyed that the boys weren't as enthralled with him as they were.

After the dismal lesson ended, the class packed up and left, with Raiden hissing things in Parseltongue under his breath. Since only his friends were around to hear it, he was safe in using it. He followed them to the Slytherin common room and put his bag away, flopping down on the couch with a frustrated sigh.

"Merlin, a whole year of that idiot and we'll be insane, as well as a whole year behind in proper Defence work. How Dumbledore hired that man is beyond me, Voldemort would do a better job I'm sure."

Blaise grinned at him and then said, "Think you could contact his spirit and convince him to come teach us?" Only us of course, no reason to let the whole school benefit from his knowledge."

Daphne flopped down next to Raiden, just avoiding ending up in his lap. "You're not afraid that he'll teach us the Dark Arts and forget the Defence parts of it are you?" she queried sarcastically. The three boys shook their heads.

"Nope, it might be cool actually. And really, in order to learn _Defence _against the Dark Arts, we do need to learn what we're up against surely," Blaise countered. Draco entered the friendly debate and Raiden leaned back against the couch smiling. He thought it would be cool for Blaise's idea to become reality but he didn't know how to make it work without revealing his secret.

Getting up he walked to his room, where he sat on his bed, closed his eyes and reached with his mind. There was a weak bond with his master, centered round his scar, a bond which allowed him to sense his master's presence and communicate with him even though it wasn't perfect.

_Master,_ he called. He felt surprise and then a reply came back.

_Yes, Raiden, what is it._

_Um, my friends and I are utterly bored in our defence class and we need a decent teacher. Blaise suggested you. You'd only be teaching me and my friends of course._

_(chuckle) Raiden, while that might be amusing, I'm at a critical point in my research. Do what you did last year, read from your textbooks._

_(sigh) Master, the textbooks were written by the git that teaches the class, the books are more glorified fantasy than useable facts._

_I'll see what I can do. You'll have to wait for Halloween though, I really am at a critical research stage otherwise I'd be there tomorrow._

_(sigh) Ok Master. Do I have permission to tell them about you?_

_Only if Severus can protect their minds enough to keep our secret from Dumbledore._

_Would the Fidelius charm work?_

_It might, although I've never heard of it being used to protect information before._

_Ok, Master. Goodbye._

_Goodbye, Raiden._

Raiden opened his eyes and found his friends crowded round his bed. Smiling at them he got off the bed and then walked to the door. Just then his stomach rumbled and they all grinned as the rest of the quartet's stomachs rumbled in sympathy. Pushing down their curiosity, Draco, Blaise and Daphne followed Raiden up to dinner.

The next day, the four friends had other things to worry about than idiotic defence teachers and Draco, Daphne and Blaise had mutually decided not to bother Raiden about his brief meditation session, for that was what he'd told them it was. They knew he was keeping something secret but they knew that he would tell them when he was ready.

The first lesson was Astronomy and Professor Sinistra was half asleep as usual, which made for a fun lecture as she frequently interrupted herself with yawns. Herbology went off without a hitch that afternoon, though Raiden objected to wearing large fluffy earmuffs. He didn't mind the colour, just the fluffiness. Draco objected to the lesson on the principle that "Malfoy's don't get dirty." Daphne merely grinned at the outraged blond and stuffed a handful of compost down his shirt, followed by Blaise rubbing a handful in his hair. Both got handfuls of dirt in their faces for their trouble.

After cleaning up from Herbology, they went inside to spend a few hours before dinner relaxing, and being silly. Raiden was persuaded to forgo the studying and join in a game of Exploding Snap which he lost in spectacular fashion. He ended up with singed eyebrows and burnt hands, which he went to Madam Pomfrey to be treated for. After an explanation which garnered a head shake and a smile from the school nurse, he returned to find his friends in the entrance hall, waiting for him to join them for dinner.

The next few weeks flew by in a blur of classes, studying and laughter. The next notable event was the Slytherin Quidditch try outs. Blaise, Daphne and Draco had been practicing their Chaser techniques, and formations, which had been shaped and honed nicely from weeks worth of practice, while Raiden could almost sense the magical trail the Snitch left in the air as it flew. The four second years were ready to take on the Chasers and Seeker that were currently on the team.

"Alright you lot. Slytherin Chasers and Seeker on this side. Hopefuls on the other. Chasers will play each other, whichever team has the most goals after fifteen minutes wins. Potter, you want to be our Seeker? You have to beat Terence to the Snitch. If you get it you're on the team. If not, then you're not. Understand?" Marcus Flint, the team captain yelled.

Raiden, Blaise, Daphne and Draco nodded determinedly and flew up into the air. The game was on.

After the most brutal fifteen minutes Raiden had ever experienced the results were in. Draco, Daphne and Blaise had flown brilliantly, disrupting the more experienced players with moves that were legal, yet improvised as well, flying up and around the three incumbents and totally demolishing them. One move was a move where Draco, Daphne and Blaise each picked an opposing chaser to play chicken with, and then when they got close enough, they did a corkscrew turn around their chosen player throwing off their sense of direction and allowing Draco to steal the Quaffle from them. The end score of the Chaser match was Hopefuls: ten, Incumbents: four.

Raiden had flown well against Terence Higgs, the incumbent Seeker. Terence tried to throw off the younger boy by bumping and harassing him. Raiden replied in kind, even hissing at him once in Parseltongue. Terence didn't know it was Parseltongue but the hissing unnerved him enough for Raiden to put on a burst of speed and grab the Snitch, securing his place on the team.

When practice ended, Marcus Flint looked sour when he announced, "The new team members are Greengrass, Zabini and Malfoy for Chasers and Potter for Seeker. The Beaters stay as they are, and I'm Keeper so I'm staying as well. First practice is next week."

As the team began to break up, Raiden nudged Draco who looked at him blankly and then remembered the brooms.

"Oy, Flint, wait," he yelled.

Marcus turned round, his eyes narrowing. "What do you want Malfoy?" he said. Draco grinned and then stood beside Raiden as they presented a package to the Slytherin captain.

"I believe the team will like these," Draco said smoothly.

Marcus stared at the two second years and then a wide grin appeared on his face. Turning briefly he yelled out, "Get over here you lazy sods, Malfoy and Potter here just ensured us our Quidditch Cup victory this year."

The team came over to exclaim over the brooms. "Nimbus 2001's, how did you do it" they exclaimed in reverence.

Draco smirked and replied, "Potter here, originally didn't want to play but I convinced him. We were thinking up ways to humiliate the Gryffindorks this season and then this genius says, "I don't want to play but how about I get the team these brooms." He split the cost with my father, and before you ask, I didn't want to buy my way onto the team, we got on it by skill alone which is how we wanted it."

"You'd have got on anyway, Malfoy but thanks. You too Potter. Are these team brooms or personal ones?" Marcus asked.

"The brooms that Harry and I have are personal ones, the others are team brooms," came back the reply. Fortunately the team accepted this and hurriedly shrunk the brooms, placing them in their pockets.

"Don't want them sabotaged do we" Flint smirked. Negative head shakes met him as the very happy Slytherins trooped in for lunch before an afternoon of relaxing and planning the utter humiliation of Gryffindor and the rest of the school at Quidditch.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven: Halloween Mystery**

It was now Halloween and the Slytherins were in a very good mood. They had utterly thrashed Hufflepuff at Quidditch thanks to their brooms and the skill of the second year quartet as Raiden had confused the Hufflepuff Seeker enough that she'd flown into the stands and while she was recovering Raiden had lazily spiraled down to the ground with the Snitch in his fist. The Chasers, led by Draco had got a total of three hundred points on their own by the time that Raiden caught the Snitch, and Flint had stopped any and all attempts on goal so the final score was four hundred and fifty to nil with Slytherin the winners.

They had had a good day, and Raiden especially was somewhat more animated and excited than usual as Voldemort would be showing up later that week. He couldn't make it for Halloween itself but he was on his way. Professor Snape had worked out a way of protecting the quartet's minds from leaking the information about the nature of the relationship between Voldemort and Raiden and this made Raiden very happy as he was getting tired of hiding his true identity from his friends. With the protection Professor Snape devised, he could tell them the truth and not have to worry about the information getting back to Dumbledore.

Dinner was loud and noisy with the whole school enjoying the decorations and food. Even the teachers loosened up a bit and allowed various pranks to be played with nothing more than raised eyebrows as comments on the hilarity. Although, Raiden was sure that he saw Professor McGonagall fight back a grin when Lockhart was transformed into a giant peacock and stayed that way for half an hour. The rest of the staff didn't even bother hiding their amusement at the vain git's predicament. Snape even pulled a few tail feathers out, commenting that he was sure he could find a use for them in some obscure potion.

When the meal was over the hall started to empty. Raiden and his friends who had started to be known as the Slytherin quartet, made their way along one of the halls next to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. They came up against a traffic jam as students from all houses blocked the way.

"What's the hold up?" Daphne muttered. Suddenly a scream from the front alerted them to the fact that something was very wrong. Raiden, Draco, Blaise and Daphne wormed their way to the front, and stopped dead at the sight in front of them.

"No," Raiden whispered. Mrs Norris, Filch's cat, was hanging from a wall sconce, stiff as a board, her eyes open and staring. Hesitantly, Raiden reached forward and touched the cat's fur, finding it stiff but the body was still warm.

He stepped back, only to be slammed backwards into the wall as an enraged cry overloaded his senses. Shaking his head to clear the ringing in his ears, Raiden realized two things, first, he was pinned against the wall with Filch's hands round his throat, and two, he was being accused of the cat's murder while slowly being murdered himself via strangulation.

Then relief appeared in the form of Professor Snape. The Potions Master pried the caretaker off of Raiden and pushed him back, stepping in between Filch and his target. McGonagall aided in further defence by calming Filch and telling him that Raiden couldn't have killed his cat.

"Why not," the man demanded, "he hates her. She's dead, my poor Norrie."

"She's not dead Argus," came a soft voice from behind McGonagall. All activity stopped as Dumbledore came into view. Sweeping the hall with his gaze, the headmaster then said, "Everyone is to go back to their dormitories immediately. We will figure out what happened here, there is no cause for alarm. Please go now."

The students turned to go and Raiden started to move with them when a hand caught his sleeve. Turning he saw Dumbledore looking at him. "Mr Potter, you will stay here please."

Raiden frowned and looked at Professor Snape. The man stared back at him, his expression unreadable. Sighing, Raiden obeyed, but took care to stand with his back towards his head of house. He didn't trust anyone else in this group.

Then the only thing that could make this situation worse decided to stroll up the hall. "Hello everyone did I miss, oh dear. What have we here?" Lockhart exclaimed. Raiden rolled his eyes, and snorted when he noticed Professor McGonagall doing the same. She winked at him and he smiled back.

"She's not dead, but what happened then?" Raiden asked, tired of not knowing why he was there. Dumbledore looked at him with a piercing look. "She's been Petrified, Mr Potter" he replied. Raiden looked puzzled.

"Petrified sir? But, there's no spell that will do that, even the Petrificus Totalus spell won't give this level of stiffness, as the eyes will still move. This is, it looks like she's dead while still being alive."

Suddenly having an idea he turned to Snape and asked, "Professor, could someone have fed Mrs Norris a bit of Draught of Living Death potion?"

Filch choked and snarled but made no move to harm Raiden again, given that there were two House Heads and the Headmaster present. Snape smirked at his student before replying, "Possible I suppose, but the potion would induce sleep, Mr Potter, not this wide eyed stillness. The eyes would be closed if the potion had been given to the cat. This is something else entirely."

Raiden growled. "OK then what happened?"

Puzzled looks met his question and then Dumbledore said, "There is a potion that is able to cure Petrification, Harry, we will make it and then give it to her once the ingredients are ready."

"What do you mean by that sir?" Raiden asked.

Snape answered from behind him. "The main ingredient is mature mandrakes Potter, and the mandrakes that are in the greenhouses right now are only babies."

Raiden shrugged. "I don't see what the problem is then. May I be excused sir, I'm tired." Receiving nods from all the teachers, Raiden walked quickly to the Slytherin common room his brain working overtime. There was something more going on here, something that the teachers were worried about but didn't want becoming public knowledge.

Sitting on his bed later that night Raiden thought hard. He hadn't told anyone of the odd hissing he'd heard in the walls earlier that day, but he couldn't ignore the possibility that the two events might be connected. Shrugging again, he got under the covers and went to sleep, tossing and turning uneasily as his dreams were filled with snakes and petrified people.

Later that week, the incident with Mrs Norris seemed largely forgotten and the school was back to normal, or as normal as a magical school could ever be. Raiden had continued to hear odd hissing noises in the walls at random intervals but didn't tell anyone, preferring to work out what it might mean on his own.

Suddenly he remembered what had been on the wall, up above the cat. There had been speculation on the sentence but nothing had been said about it further so it had died off. Raiden and his friends were still interested though.

"The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the Heir beware," Raiden muttered as he sat in the common room one night while doing his Potions homework which was the last of his subjects that he had homework in. Putting it aside he joined Draco in a game of chess, which ended as a closely fought draw. After the game ended he sat back on the couch, deep in thought.

"What are you thinking about, Harry?" Blaise asked, leaning over the back of the couch. Raiden shrugged, and then yelped as Daphne came bouncing over to them and tripped, landing squarely on his lap. Raiden's arms came up automatically to steady her while she regained her balance, and he was startled when her arms wrapped round his shoulders in an effort to do the same thing.

They looked at each other for a few minutes before they both blushed and looked away. Daphne coughed and then carefully got off Raiden, not looking at him as she sat next to him which was where she'd been originally aiming for. Neither looked at each other for a few minutes until Draco and Blaise distracted them with homework questions.

They discussed homework and other things for quarter of an hour before they turned to the mystery of the writing on the wall.

"What do you think it could mean?" Daphne asked.

Draco and Blaise shrugged but Raiden looked thoughtful. "I've been doing some thinking, and some research on this. Supposedly it's got to do with our House Founder, Salazar Slytherin. He was supposed to have built a secret chamber somewhere in Hogwarts that housed some type of monster that only his heir could control."

"OK so a secret chamber, a vicious monster that only one person can control, this is sounding better and better all the time," Blaise commented sarcastically. "Any info on exactly WHAT this monster is? And what does the second line mean?"

"Enemies of the Heir beware. Well, that could mean enemies of the Heir of Slytherin. I don't think it would be us though," Draco mused. The rest of the quartet nodded in agreement.

"I agree. Think of the times that Slytherin lived in. Who would he have viewed as enemies?" Daphne said, her brain putting two and two together like lightning.

"Muggles, and Muggleborn witches and wizards. They were a threat to wizarding safety," Draco answered. The four friends sat there for a few minutes before the same thought struck all of them like lightning.

"Muggleborns. The monster and whoever's controlling it is after muggleborns," they exclaimed.

"OK fine, so the muggleborns are in danger, why should we care?" Draco said, with a smirk. Raiden glared at him.

"We should care because the monster has been unleashed in a time where Muggles and Muggleborns are not the huge threat that Slytherin thought they were. Had you considered that if the monster continues from attacking cats to attacking people the school might well be closed? Our education would be down the toilet. I don't want that happening," he snapped.

Draco paled and held his hands up in surrender. "OK no need to jump down my throat, Harry. Anyone know who the Heir of Slytherin is?"

Raiden smirked. "I do," he answered. When his friends stared at him he smirked and said, "Voldemort."

"Oh right. That makes sense. Problem is, he's been dead, or at least not around for the past few years so who opened the chamber?" Blaise asked after a few minutes.

Raiden shrugged. "I don't know. Voldemort and myself are the only two Parselmouths in Britain I believe, and I'm only a Parselmouth because of the failed Killing Curse that Voldemort hit me with."

Draco chuckled and then said innocently, "So, you haven't been sneaking around and opening secret chambers without us have you, Harry?" Raiden's response was to throw a pillow at him.

The discussion was dropped until Daphne said, "Have you noticed the spiders are leaving the school at a rate of knots? I've never seen so many of them before."

Blaise grinned. "Yeah I have, we dropped a few down the Weasel's shirt the other day. You should have heard him scream. We thought he was a girl for a minute."

The quartet broke down in laughter, imagining the look on Ron's face as the spiders crawled around in his shirt. Raiden thought about revealing what he'd been hearing around the school to his friends, and then decided that it was harmless information which might help them decipher the mystery sooner.

"Hey guys. I've got another bit of information that might help. For the past week, starting a few days before Halloween, I've been hearing random hissing in the walls." Seeing the looks directed at him Raiden rolled his eyes and said, "I'm not crazy OK, it sounds like a snake's got into the plumbing somehow, given the hissing is inside the walls."

Puzzled looks from Draco and Blaise killed Raiden's hope that the information would be useful, until Daphne asked, "How large would this snake be do you think, Harry?"

The Dark Apprentice thought briefly. The hissing had sounded like an adult snake, an old one, and fairly large. He shrugged and said, "Fairly large I suppose, Daphne, why do you ask?"

"Because," she answered impatiently, "we should consider that these events are connected. The hissing in the walls, Mrs Norris Petrified, the way the teachers are being more watchful now, the spiders leaving."

Seeing the blank looks she sighed and said, "Honestly, sometimes I wonder how you lot are at the top of the year. We should look for a snake that can petrify things, and has some effect on spiders. It's a reasonable assumption that the spiders are afraid of whatever this snake is."

"You're right but we can't do anything about it now, we've got that Transfiguration test tomorrow and Potions class after that. Tomorrow night I've got something to tell you, something very important which may also help us with this mystery as well, but I can't tell you now. It has to be tomorrow OK."

The other three quarters of the quartet nodded and they got back to studying, not willing to let themselves be outdone by Hermione, with whom they had a friendly rivalry and Raiden was also fast friends with her now. Draco was sort of friends with her, as he was still struggling to overcome the pureblood-is-best mantra his father had taught him since he was young. Blaise and Daphne had accepted her fully, following Raiden's lead on the matter.

The next night, the Slytherin quartet met in the Potions classroom, with Professor Snape present as well. The classroom was then warded and locked so no one could hear what was happening inside. Snape put a piece of parchment on the table round which the five of them were sitting and the students looked at him inquiringly.

"This parchment, when you sign it, will protect the information you are told tonight from anyone trying to get into your heads. You won't be able to speak of it to anyone except each other or myself and anyone that tries to get into your heads will not find it either. You have to sign the parchment in order to hear the information so it's your choice"

Raiden signed immediately, and his friends followed after thinking it through. Snape signed it after them. Once the parchment was signed Snape tapped it, and then tapped each of the students on their heads, followed by himself and spoke a long phrase in Latin, of which the only thing recognizable to the students was the word Fidelis.

Once that was finished, Draco, Blaise and Daphne turned to Raiden expectantly. "Well, what's the big secret?" Draco asked. Raiden grinned and looked over his friends' shoulders seeing his master sitting on the desk with a smirk on his face.

Smirking back, Raiden held out one hand and said, "Guys, turn round." Once they had done so, and gasped at the semi-solid, ghostly form of Voldemort, Raiden grinned at them and said, "May I present Tom Marvolo Riddle, more commonly known as Lord Voldemort, the Heir of Slytherin." Then he shocked his friends even more as he smoothly knelt on one knee in front of the Dark Lord, bowed his head for a second before he looked up and said, "Hello, Master."

Voldemort smirked at the shocked looks on the faces of the students before he said, "Hello, Raiden. Get up, you know you don't have to do that."

Raiden grinned and rose from the floor, replying "I know but it served to emphasise my point."

"Which was?" Voldemort asked sarcastically.

Raiden smirked. "That you're my Master."

"I think we got that, Harry, but what the hell are you doing calling him Master, and why is he calling you Raiden?" Draco asked, trying to wrap his brain round Harry Potter calling his worst enemy by that particular title.

Raiden grinned. "I'm his apprentice and have been since I was eight years old. That's why I call him Master, because he is. Raiden is my chosen name for when I openly side with him as a Dark Lord."

"So, you're not on the Light side then?" Daphne asked.

Raiden shook his head. "I'm more grey than Dark or Light."

"How do your views on muggleborns mesh with Lord Voldmort's?" Blaise asked, interested. This time, it was Voldemort who answered.

"My agenda during the first war was to get rid of muggleborns altogether. Raiden here has a different view. He thinks that keeping the strong muggleborns in the wizarding community will keep the magic strong while stopping the inevitable problem of inbreeding."

"What about the weaker ones?" Daphne asked.

Raiden shrugged. "Bind their magic somehow, reduce them to the equivalent of Squibs, remove all memory of magic etc etc. As for the secrecy with the muggleborns allowed to stay, well, how about some sort of charm on their immediate family that doesn't allow the existence of magic to be discussed apart from between those family members, and the witch or wizard themselves of course. Kind of like what was on that parchment we signed before."

Murmurs of interest in this idea had Voldemort and Snape exchanging looks. This quartet might well be instrumental in bringing about this change if the debate going on now was any indication.

The debate was stopped when Daphne turned to Voldemort and said rather nervously, "Uh, Lord Voldemort." She squeaked when Voldemort focused his gaze on her, but managed to say, "Um, we were discussing a problem last night that Harry thought you might know something about. Harry thought you might be able to help?"

Voldemort smirked. "You've chosen your friends well, Raiden," he commented before saying, "What is the problem?"

As the story was told, Voldemort didn't have any discernable reaction. Finally he growled and said, "History appears to be repeating itself."

"What the hell is going on, Master?" Raiden said, exasperated. "You sound like you know what's going on but we don't know what it is."

Voldemort glared at him. "I am the Heir of Slytherin. When I was in my sixth year I found the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets, and what lay within it. The monster is a Basilisk; I never knew what its name was. I set it loose on the school, petrifying people as they only saw the basilisk indirectly, as a reflection. Then someone died and the school was going to be closed. I shut the basilisk back up and made a diary with a bit of myself in it, so that one day I could help someone else continue what I then believed in, purging the wizarding world of all muggleborns. I don't believe in the complete extermination of them anymore of course, thanks to Raiden but I don't understand how this could be happening."

"Could this diary possess someone and temporarily give them the gift of Parseltongue while the possession occurred?" Raiden asked after a period of silence following Voldemort's revelation.

Voldemort still looked annoyed. "Yes it might but how did whoever has the diary get hold of it in the first place?" Shrugs greeted his question and Voldemort looked about ready to curse someone if only he could. Raiden, seeing this, tried to divert Voldemort's attention with another question.

"Um, Master, isn't this the perfect opportunity to gain your body back? I mean the body of your sixteen year old self."

Voldemort smirked. "No, Raiden, although it's a good thought. The problem would be my personality and that of my sixteen year old self wouldn't be able to coexist peacefully. I, quite literally, wouldn't be able to live with myself."

Smothered chuckles greeted this statement, and then Draco said, "OK so we have to find out who has the diary and either get rid of it or give it back to you for safekeeping, my Lord. Apart from that, there's not much we can do. Unless, where's the entrance to the Chamber? You or Harry could find out who is controlling the Basilisk and get them to stop before the school is closed."

Raiden snorted. "Can we take Lockhart down with us and get the Basilisk to kill and eat him first? The man's a first class idiot."

"Who would teach Defence then?" Snape queried, having stayed silent since the beginning of the meeting.

The students shrugged. "Anyone's better than Lockhart" Blaise muttered, followed by similar statements from the quartet.

Voldemort floated up off the table, appearing to stand in mid air. "I'll go back to my research now, but I'll stay in England." Fixing Raiden with a stern look he said, "Don't go looking for the Chamber, or the Basilisk. If you do encounter it, it is likely that it won't listen to you. Find the person responsible and get my diary away from them. I want it back."

Before he could go, Raiden asked, "Master?" Seeing Voldemort nod he asked, "Um, why are you being so, well, so nice to everyone?"

Voldemort chuckled. "Really, Raiden, these are your friends, and should they choose to join us later on, they will probably comprise your inner circle. As such, they will have contact with me fairly regularly and it wouldn't do if they were too scared of me to talk freely round you."

Facing the other members of the quartet he added, "As long as you show me the proper respect I won't have a problem with you being your normal selves. If you are respectful you won't have any reason to fear me. Should you be disrespectful, well, I'll leave it to Severus to explain what I do to people that annoy me. Suffice it to say that it's very painful and sometimes lethal. Understood?"

The quartet nodded, shivering slightly and said, "Understood sir."

Voldemort nodded and then floated off the table. Facing the whole group, Voldemort said, "Do try to keep them out of trouble Severus. Goodnight everyone"

He faded out of view and Raiden found himself fending off dozens of questions from his friends until Snape rose and announced that it was near curfew and they should be getting back to the common room. After one more reminder not to talk about Voldemort or Raiden's relationship with him outside of themselves and only in a secure, warded location, Snape escorted them back so they didn't run into Filch.

Raiden's last thought before going to sleep was that somehow, some way, he was going to find the Chamber of Secrets.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve: Valentines and Quidditch Complications**

Raiden grinned at his friends when he woke up on Valentines Day. He had talked with Daphne about the little "accident" in the common room the day before the truth about his relationship with Voldemort was revealed and they had mutually decided not to do anything about it, although Daphne had taken to sitting closer to Raiden than she had before. Raiden didn't mind this, although he wouldn't allow anything more than an occasional friendly hug from his friend, which he returned. He didn't want to complicate his life at this early stage with a relationship, when they were both too young anyway.

When he walked into the Great Hall, Raiden seriously considered going back to bed. The hall was decorated in _hot pink _of all colours and Gilderoy Lockhart was sitting in his chair at the teacher's table smiling like he owned the universe. The other staff members were scowling fiercely at any student who dared to laugh at the decorations.

Once all the students were seated Lockhart got up to make an announcement. "As everyone can see the house elves kindly acceded to my request for decorations on this day of romance. I'm sure that if you girls have your eye on a certain boy, Professor Snape could be prevailed upon for a love potion, while Professor Flitwick is no slouch at the charms you might wish to employ as well. Also, I have arranged for my little card carrying cupids to be running round the school today delivering messages for you all. Have fun today. Thank you."

He sat down to glares from the male half of the student body while the girls were sighing happily. Snape looked as though anyone to ask him for a love potion would find themselves as potions ingredients in short order while Flitwick muttered to himself for the rest of breakfast and looked most unhappy. Raiden glared at Daphne when she rummaged round for parchment and quill and began composing a message.

"That had better not be for me," he warned.

Daphne looked up and smiled. "Of course it's not, Raiden. I'm trying to come up with a suitably nasty Valentine for that pompous git up there. Potions is going to be terrible because of him you realize. Professor Snape is in the foulest mood I've ever seen."

Raiden sighed. "Can you please call me Harry, I don't want my other name being made public for a while yet and can I help with the Valentine?"

Daphne looked sheepish for a moment; Raiden had requested that his friends continue to call him Harry until he was ready to make his public debut as Lord Raiden, a request which Daphne had forgotten.

"Of course Harry, sorry about that. Here's what I've got so far." She handed over the parchment and Raiden snorted as she saw what she'd written. His snort drew the attention of Blaise and Draco and soon all four were bent over the parchment, discussing wording and discarding useless stuff. Raiden was adamant that the last line be "Love, the Heir of Slytherin" as the whole Heir of Slytherin bit had made the rounds of the school grapevine as fear enveloped the school.

The Slytherin quartet had made little to no progress on finding who had the diary and hadn't found the entrance to the Chamber either. Raiden had asked Voldemort where it was and had been firmly told to mind his own business. When he'd pressed the matter, Voldemort had activated the bit of the link between them that caused Raiden's scar to hurt, and had then drifted closer to his apprentice, placing one finger on the scar. It didn't take long for Raiden to collapse in pain and after that the apprentice had wisely not questioned Voldemort about the Chamber again, except to tell him of their non-progress, a fact that pleased the Dark Lord greatly. Despite his desire to introduce Raiden to the Slytherin legacy as it were, Voldemort was not going to take any chances with his apprentice. He did not want Raiden being petrified, or worse, killed by the snake that some unknown enemy was setting loose.

The petrifications had continued, and even the Slytherins were starting to feel worried. Hermione seemed determined to find out the answer to the mystery and Raiden hadn't had the heart to tell her that they already knew. Shaking his head, Raiden hurried off to class, aware of the dwarf behind him that wanted him to stop. Finally being cornered by the persistent cupid, Raiden rolled his eyes and decided it was best to let the valentine be sung and then he wouldn't be bothered again.

The dwarf smirked as his subject finally stopped, apparently giving into the inevitable. Walking up he stopped, cleared his throat and then began to sing, in the worst tune that Raiden had ever heard,

"His eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad

His hair is as dark as a blackboard

I wish he was mine, he's really divine

The hero who conquered the Dark Lord."

Raiden growled as the students within earshot exploded in laughter. Spotting Blaise in the crowd he made his way over and hissed in his ear, "That Valentine for Lockhart had better be suitably humiliating. This is the worst day ever and it's all thanks to that GIT!"

Blaise chuckled and herded Raiden into class, not wanting his friend to explode in the corridor. Once inside they met the rest of their quartet who had heard the Valentine but didn't dare laugh once they saw Raiden's face. Shrugging they sat down and waited for the lesson, which was Charms, to begin.

Once Charms had finished, the Slytherins had headed off to Transfiguration which they had with the Ravenclaws. Hermione managed to derail the lesson at one point by asking about the Chamber of Secrets and Professor McGonagall gave them the history that the Slytherins already knew. She ended by saying that the school had been searched many times and that no evidence had ever been found. The Slytherin quartet shrugged, they knew, thanks to Voldemort that the Chamber existed, and what was in it. Now they just had to find who was opening it.

After the morning classes, the Slytherin Quartet met in the Great Hall and huddled round the end of the Slytherin table, working on their special Valentine for Lockhart. Once they had it worked out they got the attention of one of the cupid dwarfs and handed it to him, with instructions to give it to Lockhart in front of everyone. The dwarf took one look at their faces and an answering smirk came over his face before he walked off to gather the rest of his friends and give the pompous git the payback he deserved.

Just before dinner, when the Hall was full, the entire complement of dwarfs came walking into the hall, each carrying a copy of the Slytherin Quartet's Valentine. They lined themselves up in a row and then broke into song.

"He struts round like a peacock, only twice as vain

His magic skills are non-existent, much to his shame

To cover this up he uses his fraudulent fame

The great hero is a façade to hide the coward within

Oh Gilderoy Lockhart how I loathe you

Love the Heir of Slytherin."

The students looked at each other, then at the flustered Lockhart, and burst into laughter. Some were laughing so hard they fell off their chairs; others could hardly breathe as every time they looked up at the teachers table, the expression on Lockhart's face would set them off again.

The teachers themselves were hard pressed to not follow the students' lead on the matter. Dumbledore was twinkling away; McGonagall was slowly losing the battle which was evidenced by the snickers escaping her at odd intervals. Snape was smirking and his eyes were bright with amusement and malice at Lockhart's Valentine. He knew exactly who had sent it, the Heir of Slytherin bit gave it away at once, and looking down at his House table he saw the quartet looking back at him.

They exchanged smirks, and then a choking sound from McGonagall drew the Potions Master's attention. Unable to hide her mirth anymore, McGonagall had changed into her cat form and was having very strange convulsions as she laughed hysterically at the Valentine.

Just then, dinner arrived and distracted the laughing student population from the very embarrassed Lockhart. They dug into the food, talking about the Valentine around mouthfuls, while Lockhart ate only half of his plate and then vanished from the room.

The next weekend was the Quidditch match between Slytherin and Gryffindor. Flint had been working the Slytherin team hard, determined to beat Gryffindor. They had had a really fun practice after kicking the Gryffindor team off the pitch one day. Ron Weasley had been trying to curse Raiden with a curse that would make him burp up slugs for a week. Raiden had hissed a reversal spell in Parseltongue which caused the spell to shoot out the wrong end of Ron's wand, giving the redhead a nasty case of slimy stomachache.

The Slytherin team exploded in laughter, and Flint said with a nasty smile, "Got a wand problem there Weasley. Better go and see Pomfrey, she's good at sorting those out."

Oliver Wood turned an unattractive shade of red at the comment and yelled, "Don't be a pervert, Flint."

Flint turned to the Slytherin team in mock surprise. "Get your mind out of the gutter Wood, I meant that Pomfrey is good at fixing accidental curse damage from spells. I didn't mean what you thought I meant."

Wood snarled but led the Gryffindor team off the pitch, allowing the Slytherin team to practice in peace. Now, the two teams were on the pitch, facing each other, with the rest of the school sitting in the stands. Slytherin and Gryffindor were cheering their respective houses while Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw were evenly split. Madam Hooch was officiating, and she glared at Wood and Flint when she said she wanted a clean game.

The quartet smirked, the chance of Slytherin and Gryffindor ever having a "nice clean game" was almost non existent. The two teams shot into the air and the game began.

The game was fast and brutal. The Slytherin Chasers, led by Draco made mincemeat of the Gryffindor Chasers, while Raiden ran distraction as often as he was able. Fred and George Weasley, the Gryffindor Beaters, did their best to take Raiden out of the sky but he was too fast and too adept at sensing danger nearby. The Slytherin Beaters returned fire, and succeeded in breaking up the Gryffindor Chaser formation allowing Blaise to steal the Quaffle and take it up to the Gryffindor hoops. With Draco and Daphne distracting Wood he was able to score easily, making the score two hundred and ninety to ten.

Raiden searched for the Snitch while keeping an eye on the Gryffindor seeker. The seeker was a fifth year, but he kept looking at the game, rather than for the Snitch. Raiden smirked and then took off for one corner of the pitch. The Gryffindor shadowed him closely and only realized the danger when Raiden pulled up sharply and turned away towards the centre of the field.

The Gryffindor seeker plowed into the goal hoops of his team at top speed. There was a crunching sound and the boy fell onto the sand, unconscious. Raiden ascended, free to look for the Snitch at his leisure, while his opposite number was being treated by Pomfrey.

Suddenly his danger sense activated and Raiden did a barrel roll in mid air, feeling a current of air pass over him as the Bludger shot over his broom. Righting himself, Raiden watched in disbelief as the Bludger changed direction and headed straight for him again, with no interference from any of the four Beaters. Raiden took off with the Bludger following him like a dangerous and potentially lethal shadow.

Raiden pulled all the tricks he knew to shake off the ball that was dogging his heels. As he rocketed by Flint he yelled "Call a time out, this blasted ball's bewitched or something!" The game practically stopped as everyone watched the Bludger chase the wizarding world's savior.

Getting desperate Raiden flew past the teacher's box, with the Bludger in hot pursuit. Snape looked shocked as he watched the spectacle taking place. Suddenly, Raiden had an idea. He shot down into the structural area of the stands, flying around the beams holding the stands in place. The Bludger followed, but where Raiden swerved up and over, or down and under the supports, the Bludger smashed right through them.

Finally Raiden spotted an exit, and shot out, still with his black shadow, and then he saw it. The Snitch chose that moment to appear directly in front of him. Never one to miss an opportunity, Raiden snatched the Snitch out of the air, and headed for the ground. When he was almost there, the Bludger caught up with him.

Raiden winced as he felt the Bludger smash into his arm. Fortunately he wasn't far from the ground and he could topple from the broom onto the sand. The Bludger then tried to go after him again, but was stopped when a jet of light hit it and blew it to pieces.

Looking up from the sand, where he was sitting in a cross legged position, cradling his arm, Raiden saw Snape tucking his wand away. Raiden nodded his thanks to his Head of House and Snape returned the nod before crouching down beside him.

The rest of the team landed and formed a circle round their seeker. Snape gently took hold of Raiden's arm, examining it with gentle touches. Snape then stood and pulled Raiden to his feet by his uninjured arm, and began to walk him towards Madam Pomfrey. Before they got there though, Gilderoy Lockhart decided to step in.

"Broken arm is it? Not to worry, I know the perfect spell to set everything to rights. Now.."

"Don't touch me!" Raiden snapped.

At the same time, Snape growled, "You will not touch my student Lockhart; you are not a qualified mediwizard."

Lockhart looked flustered before he noticed a small wince of pain from Raiden as he stumbled and accidentally moved his arm. He decided to help him and had his wand pointed at Raiden's arm and the spell cast before Snape could do anything.

Students and staff alike watched in fascinated horror as the spell made Raiden's arm bulge and then the broken bone emerged from the skin, at an angle that made even Poppy Pomfrey wince in sympathy. Raiden's howl of pain could be heard clean across the pitch as the incompetent Defence Professor attempted to fix his mistake and made the bones move even further out of the remains of his forearm. Thankfully several Stupefy's from several different directions knocked the git out cold before he could do any more damage and another Stupefy, this time from Pomfrey, knocked Raiden out so he didn't suffer any more than he had already on his trip up to the castle infirmary.

When Raiden came to, he found himself lying in one of the infirmary beds, with his team surrounding him. Snape was standing beside him, holding a goblet of some potion which smelled worse than most medicinal potions. Raiden wrinkled his nose, he would bet all the gold in his Gringotts vault that it tasted worse than it smelled.

"What's that stuff?" he asked suspiciously.

Snape smirked but his eyes showed sympathy for his student's plight. "Skele-Grow, Mr Potter. The damage to your arm that that incompetent buffoon did was so severe that Madam Pomfrey had to vanish the bones in your forearm, and wrist in order to have any chance of healing you fully. Now that you're awake we can proceed with the last step which is to have you drink this potion which will re-grow your wrist and forearm bones. It will be painful but it is the only way to get your arm back to normal."

Raiden looked at his floppy arm in disgust before holding out his hand. "Give it to me," he said, drinking the potion down in one go, and making a face at the end of it. Before he went to sleep, he asked, "What happened to Lockhart?"

He was rather disturbed at the evil smile on Snape's face when the man replied, "He has been…dealt with…and he won't be making this particular mistake again.

Raiden went to sleep, woken only by the entrance of Dumbledore, McGonagall and Pomfrey during the night as they carried the Petrified body of Colin Creevey to a bed near Raiden. The whispered conversation and the black smoke pouring from the boy's ruined camera left Raiden more determined than ever to find the Chamber and stop the attacks. He couldn't let the school be closed, nor could he take the chance that his friends might be hurt. Turning over in the bed, he went back to sleep, pondering the mystery of the whereabouts of the Chamber of Secrets.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen: Mysteries Solved and Chilling Confrontations**

Over the months following the Quidditch game against Gryffindor, the tension in the school heightened as teachers now escorted the students to classes, and all students moved in packs. It was rare to find students alone or in anything less than a group of three or four. The teachers were snappish and took points more than they gave them out, and the prefects were harder on rule breakers. The petrifications had continued, including the shocking petrification of the Gryffindor House ghost, Sir Nick.

The thing which cemented the Slytherin quartet's determination to solve the mystery once and for all was when the terror struck close to home, taking one of their group members.

Draco, Raiden, and Blaise were waiting in the Slytherin changing rooms so they could go out and beat Ravenclaw, thus cementing their position as Quidditch Cup champions. Their hopes were dashed when Snape came into the room and beckoned the three quartet members over to him.

In hushed tones he told them, "The game is cancelled, the monster has struck again." He looked at them with sympathy and suddenly Daphne's absence took on a painful clarity for them.

"She's been Petrified hasn't she," Blaise whispered. Snape nodded, his eyes showing his sadness. While he might not outwardly display emotion very much, if you knew what to look for, his eyes could be quite expressive, at least round the Slytherins. Daphne was one of his students and he cared about all of the Slytherins.

"Yes she has, Mr Zabini. I'm to take you all to the hospital wing to see her. Miss Granger was with her at the time and she has also been Petrified. They had a mirror with them."

"Probably to look round corners," Raiden muttered as they walked to the hospital wing. Snape nodded silently in agreement. Once they reached the hospital wing the three conscious members of the quartet sat round their friends' bed and simply looked at them. Once Snape and Pomfrey had withdrawn to give them some privacy, Raiden spotted a piece of parchment in Hermione's hand.

Carefully extracting it he read it before chuckling. "Seems like Hermione figured it out guys. Now we have to end this problem, you heard McGonagall this morning at breakfast, the school might be closed if the attacks don't stop."

Looking round to assure privacy, Draco hissed, "Our mutual advisor told us not to interfere, Harry. He'll go nuts if you continue on this train of thought. What did you expect to do, find the entrance, go down to the Chamber and ask the monster politely to stop?"

Seeing the serious look on his friend's face Draco sighed. "Merlin you were weren't you," he muttered before sitting up straighter. "If you go down then we go down with you. There's no way that Blaise and I are letting you go alone" he stated firmly.

Raiden smiled. "Thanks guys," he said before squeezing Daphne's frozen hand. "We'll stop this Daph, you'll see," he murmured to her, before repeating the same assurance to Hermione. Neither answered but it made Raiden feel better to have said it anyway.

Standing up he said, "Let's get back to the common room; I have something I want to tell you regarding the hidden entrance." His friends nodded and rose as well, walking back to the common room at a fast pace, with Raiden having all his senses on high alert in case the Basilisk was still roaming around. It wasn't and they reached their dorm room without incident.

"So what's this information you had to tell us Raiden?" Draco asked, using his friend's Dark Apprentice name since they were alone with only Blaise as company and the door was locked with multiple locking charms and layered with multiple silencing charms as well. Raiden shrugged.

"You remember McGonagall saying that the Chamber was opened almost fifty years ago as well?" he asked. Receiving nods he continued, "A girl died in a bathroom that time, and I thought, well, what if that girl never left."

Seeing realization dawn on Blaise and Draco's faces he nodded. "Moaning Myrtle was the Basilisk's victim last time, the only one to die, and I talked to her about it."

He stopped and shuddered. Seeing this Draco asked, "What's wrong?"

Raiden smirked. "She was rather, ah, entertained by the prospect of retelling how she died. It was disturbing really." After giving enough time for the chuckles to die down he continued, "So she pointed me in the direction of the sinks. One sink has never worked and that sink has a carving of a snake on the underside."

He waited for one of his friends to grasp the implication but when they didn't he huffed and said, "The entrance to the Chamber of Secrets is in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom!"

"Slytherin must have been a right old pervert then," Blaise commented, to chuckles from the other two.

Draco leant back and then asked, "What are we going to do though? I mean, both Raiden's mentor and Professor Snape have told us not to go poking round on our own. And, no offence Raiden but your mentor is scary enough when he's being halfway nice; I'm not about to chance pissing him off."

Raiden chuckled. "At this point in time Draco, I'm the only one he can really hurt so you should be safe."

He stopped short when he saw the look on Draco's face as he snapped, "Pain doesn't have to be physical, Raiden, and it would hurt us emotionally if the Dark Lord punished you for this. Don't risk it."

Raiden was touched by his friends concern but a steely determination entered his eyes. "I'm going down there guys, this needs to stop. Besides, whoever's controlling the Basilisk has my master's diary and I need to retrieve it. I'll be fine I promise."

Draco and Blaise looked at him skeptically but realized that they couldn't talk him out of his plan. Finally they shrugged and turned their attention to their homework, unlocking and de-silencing the room so others could enter if they wished.

A few weeks later after reading everything he could on basilisks; Raiden was ready to put his plan into effect. Just before he could get to the bathroom though, a message rang through the school requesting all students return to their common rooms. Swearing mentally, knowing that Snape would notice if he were missing, Raiden turned round, after vowing to come back as soon as possible.

What he heard in the common room reinforced his decision to act that day, apparently Ginny Weasley, the youngest Weasley child had been taken by the basilisk down into the Chamber itself. When he told his friends of his intentions they were horrified.

"You'd save a Gryffindor!" Draco snarled, his disdain for Gryffindor as well as the hatred spawned by the Malfoy-Weasley feud coming through in his tone.

Raiden rolled his eyes and replied, "I need to stop the monster Draco, and you heard Snape, if the monster isn't stopped then the school will be closed. Think of it this way, I'll be taking a student away from the snake but giving it a much nicer alternative."

At his friends' puzzled looks Raiden smirked and then said "Lockhart will be coming with me."

The other two Slytherins choked with laughter before Blaise commented, "We're coming with you though."

"You're serious?" Raiden questioned, wondering why they'd want to accompany him.

Draco and Blaise nodded firmly. "Yes. Just leave the chamber entrance open, only a parselmouth can close it, and Professor Snape will probably join us."

Raiden looked at them and saw that they were determined to do it their way. Shrugging he said, "Follow me then."

The three students crept out of the common room, hardly able to believe their luck at not being noticed. They weren't though. Snape had noticed them and silently followed, taking care to use all his considerable skill to remain undetected. The group of five headed up to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom as the students had _convinced_ Lockhart to accompany them. Snape merely smirked and remained in his undetected position when they arrived at the bathroom. Raiden found the snake on the sink and hissed "Open" in parseltongue.

The sinks sank down into a wide tunnel, wide enough for a Basilisk the students absently noted. They shoved Lockhart down first, and then followed. Snape waited for about two minutes before following, casting several charms first to hide the fact that he was following them. They found themselves in a large, damp tunnel filled with skeletons and other things that didn't bear identifying.

T

he walk along the tunnel was punctuated by various comments by the students and Lockhart's whimpers when he wasn't pretending to be brave. They were shocked when they saw the enormous snake skin on the floor of the tunnel and Raiden began to rethink this adventure he was on. Then he remembered Hogwarts and knew he couldn't let it be closed so he continued on.

Voldemort had heard this last thought and gently slipped into Raiden's mind, taking care that his apprentice didn't notice his intrusion. What he saw enraged him, Raiden was deliberately walking towards his possible death and he'd taken his friends with him! Now, Voldemort let Raiden get away with quite a bit, more than he'd put up with even from one of his Inner Circle Death Eaters, but he didn't condone outright disobedience of the sort that Raiden was currently engaged in. Snarling to himself the Dark Lord abandoned his research and headed to Hogwarts, having perfected the almost instantaneous method of travel that ghosts used. He appeared behind Snape and floated along, invisible to everyone and watched as they reached the Chamber entrance.

Raiden swallowed as he opened the Chamber of Secrets and strode inside, his eyes on the pale form of Ginny Weasley lying next to a small black book that he surmised was his master's old diary. His companions spread out, searching the area but wary of meeting the Basilisk.

Raiden picked up the diary and thumbed through it. He was almost finished when a voice from behind him made him turn round.

"Interesting isn't it?"

Raiden spun to face a younger version of his master. The slightly translucent look about him caused Raiden to realize that this version of Voldemort, who looked to be around 16 was a ghost of some description.

"You're partially right," the boy in front of him said. "I am a memory, preserved in the diary for nearly sixty years. I used Ginny here to gain corporeal form. The more life energy I take from her the more real I become."

"So you're Tom Riddle then?" Raiden enquired.

The boy looked startled for a second before a calculating look entered his eyes. "Yes, and you're Harry Potter. Why aren't you afraid of me?"

Raiden smirked. "Mainly because I've been your older self's apprentice since I was eight and I'm a Slytherin. Not only that I'm also a Parselmouth."

Tom grinned. "So you agree with my goals then, Harry" he said.

Raiden shook his head, deciding to hurry things up. "Not quite. Your older self had a slight change in viewpoints and he wants you to stop this attack on the school."

"Why?" Tom asked with a dangerous edge in his voice.

Raiden shrugged. "Because if the girl dies then the school will be closed and I'll have to return to my disgusting muggle relatives, with no chance of finishing my education. I'd hate to stop learning before I knew how to properly curse them after all."

Riddle laughed. "I like you, Potter, but the process is almost complete. In a few minutes Ginny will be dead and I will live again."

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Voldemort said, becoming visible for the first time since entering the chamber. Everyone with the exception of Ginny looked shocked, and Raiden swallowed hard, he was in two minds about his master's appearance here.

On one hand he was grateful that his master was here to reason with his younger self but on the other he was also worried. From the glare that Voldemort had shot his way he knew that the Dark Lord was seriously displeased with him and that always had painful consequences. Swallowing again he said, "Hi, Master. Could you reason with your younger self here please? I need to talk to the basilisk."

Voldemort and Tom glared at him before beginning to argue viciously over which one of them should live. Tom wanted out of the diary while Voldemort wanted to continue his research and get a body back that wasn't inhabited by his previous self. While they were arguing, Raiden had wandered over to the statue of Salazar Slytherin, amused to see that Snape had tied Lockhart up, and gagged him as well to prevent him from both talking and escaping. Draco and Blaise were also wandering the massive chamber, excited at being able to explore it.

Raiden stared at his house founder and was shocked to hear Tom's voice float over to him, "The password is speak to me Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts four, in parseltongue."

Raiden shrugged but repeated the phrase. The statue's mouth dropped open and Raiden levitated himself up and inside. After walking along a short passage he found the basilisk coiled up.

#Who are you?# the great snake hissed.

Raiden bowed respectfully, keeping his eyes away from the snake's gaze. # I am Lord Raiden, apprentice of Lord Voldemort great one, and I come to offer you a deal# he replied.

# What deal?# the basilisk asked.

Raiden thought for a moment. #You need to stop petrifying the students of the school. What did you normally do for food down here?#

The basilisk sounded annoyed when it replied, #My master, the great Lord Slytherin left a doorway down that tunnel where I could get out into the forest. I do not wish to harm the students but I must follow the commands of a parselmouth. It is not my fault that I was being commanded to hurt the little hatchlings up above.#

Snickering at the snake's description of the students, Raiden nonetheless replied, # I will ensure that you are left in peace down here, free to hunt in the forest at will as long as you don't come up above anymore. No one will tell you to do that now. But, before you go, may I ask you to do one thing for me?#

#Name it# the basilisk said.

Raiden grinned and then asked, #Are you hungry?#

Back in the main chamber, Voldemort had finally decided to absorb Tom's energy from the diary, giving back Ginny's life energy in the process. This had the effect of turning the diary into a harmless book, which Voldemort then had Snape duplicate and place the necessary charms on both books so they were linked to each other. Thus Raiden and Voldemort had a secure method of communication for when Voldemort got his body back. Ginny had not yet woken up thanks to a stupefy spell from Snape, and they were waiting for Raiden to reappear. They weren't expecting to see the basilisk slithering behind him like a faithful puppy though. Even Voldemort was shocked.

#Tell your friends that they can meet my gaze, I will not harm them# the basilisk hissed to Raiden.

The Dark Apprentice shrugged and said, "She won't harm you guys, she's got her third eyelid covering her eyes which blocks the effects of her gaze."

The other members of the party looked at him dubiously but when Raiden stared up into the huge yellow eyes of the Basilisk with no harm coming to him they were more confident. Snape in particular came up to the snake, examining the creature with awe.

The basilisk was hissing to Voldemort, and complimenting Raiden highly, something which Voldemort grudgingly accepted, given that he was still pissed off with Raiden for disobeying him. The huge snake then coiled its tail round Raiden to get it away from Snape and hissed,

#Tell the man examining my scales that he can have as many as he wants, as well as some of my venom and teeth as long as he stops tickling me#

Raiden chuckled and relayed the information to Snape who hurriedly unshrunk some glass vials that he always carried with him. In short order the ingredients were collected and Snape stared at the snake with admiration and respect.

"Thank you for agreeing to this," he said with a slight bow. The basilisk lowered its head for a moment before hissing something at the Potions Master who looked to the two Parselmouths for translation.

Voldemort answered the unspoken question. "She said that you are welcome and that you may collect more ingredients if you need them as long as it isn't painful or fatal for her." Snape once more thanked the snake before it slithered towards Lockhart, hissing quietly with anticipation.

"What did you ask her to do?" Voldemort asked Raiden quietly. The rest of the Slytherins moved closer to hear the answer.

Raiden shrugged. "I explained the situation with Lockhart and said that if she agreed to never come upstairs, into Hogwarts again, then she was able to feed in the forest at will. I also said that I would visit her as she gets lonely down here if she would do us one small favor, that being getting rid of him for us."

There was a terrified, soundless scream from Lockhart as the basilisk struck, immense fangs tearing through the fraudulent DADA teacher with the ease of a hot knife through butter. Within seconds, Lockhart's body had disappeared down the snake's throat and the snake itself was hissing in appreciation.

#A delicious snack, thank you young Master# it hissed to Raiden who merely bowed slightly in acknowledgement. The basilisk then turned and slithered off into a nearby tunnel, presumably the one that led to the forbidden forest. With that done, Snape turned to wake up Ginny but a head shake from Voldemort stopped him.

"Not yet. There is still one thing that needs to be dealt with," the Dark Lord said coldly. Snape looked worried, he'd heard that tone of voice before and knew that someone, namely Raiden, was about to be in a lot of pain. Voldemort turned to face his apprentice and hissed coldly, #Come here#

Raiden swallowed, he had a good idea of how Voldemort was going to punish him and he didn't like it. It wasn't that he feared the pain, oh no, he was used to that after living with his relatives. It was the fact that he'd forced Voldemort into punishing him when the Dark Lord only rarely did so and only for serious offences. There was also the matter of this punishment being a somewhat public affair, given the fact that his friends and Head of House would be witnesses. Seeing that there was no mercy to be found in his master's gaze though, Raiden resigned himself to the inevitable.

Voldemort floated over to Raiden when the boy stopped about a foot away from him. Activating what he and Raiden had come to call the "pain receptor" part of the bond he pressed one finger firmly on Raiden's scar and then left it there, moving with Raiden so no matter how hard the apprentice tried to move away, he couldn't do so.

Draco and Blaise were watching in shock and horror as they realized what Voldemort had meant when he said his punishments were highly painful. They also remembered, with a sick feeling in their stomachs, that those punishments could sometimes be lethal.

Snape watched in well hidden sympathy as Raiden shook under the effects of the pain from his scar. He hadn't yet make a sound, although he was close. Snape watched the reactions of his other two students. out of the corner of his eye. As much as he might not have wished it, both Draco and Blaise would someday end up as followers of the Dark Lord so it was perhaps best that they see his version of discipline now so that they would have time to adjust before joining him later on. Snape also privately thought that Raiden deserved it, but even so, witnessing it was still painful for him as Raiden was one of his students that he had sworn to protect by virtue of his position as Head of House.

As he was contemplating this, Raiden let out a low moan of pain and Voldemort stopped the punishment. Thanks to his life with the Dursleys, Raiden had a very high pain tolerance, meaning that what was causing him to moan would make a normal witch or wizard scream uncontrollably. Voldemort floated away from his apprentice and closed off the pain receptor before watching as Raiden collapsed onto the ground.

#Do not disobey me again# Voldemort hissed, watching as Raiden struggled to stand up. Draco started towards him but one glare from the Dark Lord froze him in place. Raiden fell a couple of times but finally stood on his feet, swaying slightly but steadying himself in minutes.

Looking at his master Raiden said, "I'm sorry, Master. I felt I needed to come, but I could have talked to you first. I won't do it again."

Voldemort snorted. "Somehow I doubt that, Raiden, but thank you for the sentiment at least. May I suggest that you go back to the main part of the school now, I'm sure you're being searched for."

Snape, Draco, Blaise and Raiden nodded, before Snape picked Ginny up, not waking her yet, and they walked back to the tunnel entrance. Once at the place where the tunnel sloped upwards, Raiden grinned.

#Stairs# he hissed. Stairs appeared promptly and the group walked up, Snape canceling the stunning spell as soon as the Chamber entrance had been closed. Ginny woke up, not only surrounded by Slytherins but also found herself being held by her Potions Professor. After blushing a shade of red which matched her hair she asked to be put down, which Snape gladly agreed to, as he was uncomfortable holding her anyway, and it had nothing to do with her being a Gryffindor and more the fact that she'd been unconsciously snuggling against him on the way back from the Chamber.

The group headed outside the bathroom and up to the Headmaster's office where they were met with cries of relief from the two adult Weasleys. After giving a highly edited series of events the Slytherins left and went back to the dungeons, all of them silent and contemplating the day's events. After dinner the students went to bed while Snape stayed up for a bit, thanking his lucky stars that things hadn't ended much more messily. Smirking he put the memory of Lockhart's rather gruesome end into his Pensieve before falling into bed wondering what sort of havoc the Slytherin Quartet would think up next.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen: Summer Holidays Part One**

The end of second year had gone fairly well for the Slytherin Quartet. The mandrake draught had been made and all the petrified victims had woken up. There had been a joyful reunion between the Quartet members, one which Hermione had joined in on with Snape's permission. Raiden had thought it was amusing when Daphne hugged him, but was more than a little shocked when he found himself sandwiched between both Daphne and Hermione.

Slytherin had won both the House Cup and the Quidditch Cup, and due to the basilisk incident, the normal end of year exams were cancelled, causing everyone except for Hermione it seemed to cheer loudly. Hermione had grumbled that she had done enough study to pass and it was ridiculous that they were cancelled.

The train ride had passed peacefully enough, and when they got to the station, Raiden had said goodbye to his friends before heading off in the direction of his relatives. He suppressed a snarl as Vernon grabbed his arm tightly; he hated being manhandled like that and sent a small wandless shock down his arm, causing Vernon to release him abruptly. One look at the expression on Raiden's face caused the muggle to step back quickly, and the ride back to Little Whinging was mostly silent. Raiden was fuming at having to survive another summer with his relatives, surviving essentially alone as Voldemort would be out of the country doing his research on a way of coming back. Sighing, Raiden contemplated the last time he'd seen his master, in the Chamber of Secrets fiasco and absently rubbed his scar. One thing was certain, once his master got his body back Raiden would be doing everything possible to avoid a Cruciatus from him as if the pain was anything like what he experienced through his scar then he didn't want anymore experiences of it.

When they got home Raiden was told to go to his room and stay there, although the Dursleys didn't lock him in like they had the previous summer. A hoot at the window told the young wizard that his owl, Salazar had arrived safely which relieved him. Salazar was likely to be his only company this summer unless Draco managed to spring him from his prison which he was starting to call Durs-kaban, a mix of Dursley and the name of the wizard prison Azkaban.

Sighing Raiden swiftly unpacked his books and organized them so he could start his homework the next day. While he was a Slytherin, he had enough Ravenclaw in him to enjoy studying, and Voldemort was very insistent that he keep his grades up and also expand his knowledge level whenever possible. Once that was done he flopped onto his bed, taking the opportunity to rest before dinner.

Dinner was tense and Raiden was glad to escape to his room after eating his fill. He noticed with disgust that Dudley had gotten even larger, and Raiden hadn't thought that was possible. With a smirk, he contemplated calling a weight loss show and getting the Dursley's entered. Looking at himself he chuckled, he didn't need to lose any weight, if anything he needed to do some muscle toning. Quidditch was great but he needed a bit more work. Smirking once more he idly thought of doing the yard work for his relatives and how that might help with his muscle development.

That night was spent in a peaceful sleep, only to be woken the next morning by his aunt's shrill screeching voice demanding that he come and make breakfast. Sighing he got up, had a shower and dressed before going downstairs. He made the Dursley's breakfast before looking at what was left. Shrugging, he threw a couple of hash browns into the pan, along with some sausages. Once those were done he swiftly made some pancakes and carried his plate and a glass of milk to the table.

"Boy, after breakfast you will do the weeding and then paint the fence. Marge is coming over in 2 days and the garden will be looking its best understand!" Vernon snarled. Raiden looked up and shrugged. He'd been meaning to do some work this summer and didn't mind the tasks. What he did mind was the tone of voice.

"I have no problem with that Vernon. However, if you want me to do anything else round the house you will ask, politely. I don't respond well to demands" Raiden growled in an equally menacing tone to the one that Vernon had used with him.

Vernon went purple but Raiden released a little of his aura, directing it to his eyes so they glowed an Avada Kedavra green. This was unnerving to people he found, and Raiden had no scruples about using something that worked. Vernon backed down and waved his nephew off to begin the chores.

A few hours later Raiden straightened up from his cramped position by the last flowerbed in the front garden. He looked back along the rows of flowers, pleased that the beds had no weeds in them. He was distracted when he heard a cruel laugh.

Looking up he spotted the overgrown elephant that passed for his cousin standing by the wheelbarrow full of weeds. With a smirk Dudley tipped the whole wheelbarrow over on the lawn and then picked up several weeds and dirt clods before throwing them on Vernon's gleaming company car. He then grinned stupidly before yelling "DAD, THE FREAK JUST THREW DIRT ALL OVER YOUR CAR!"

Vernon came charging out and went almost apoplectic with rage. He stormed over to Raiden and grabbed him by his shirt before shaking him and yelling about cleaning the car and no dinner and other stuff which Raiden tuned out. Snarling with fury, the Dark Apprentice hissed out a parseltongue spell which gave Vernon a larger version of the shock that he'd got at King's Cross station. Vernon stumbled backwards and Raiden leapt backwards as well landing in a fighting stance, prepared to move any which way. His survival instincts were screaming at him, telling him to stay well away from his uncle.

"Vernon, I did not throw that dirt on the car. Try asking Dudley what happened."

"I don't need to know what happened. Dudley would never do that to my car," Vernon snapped back. Raiden snarled again and then directed the hose to the car. A small spell, wandless of course, turned the hose on and the car was clean within minutes.

Smirking Raiden turned to Vernon who was looking frantically round to see if the neighbours had seen anything. None had of course, as they were all indoors escaping from the heat which was something Raiden had considered before using magic in the first place. He enjoyed using it but stayed within the bounds of the Statute of Secrecy imposed by the Ministry as he had no wish to run afoul of the government.

Later in the evening, Raiden walked inside, having finished the flowerbeds and painted half of the fence. Washing his hands and taking a quick shower to wash away the grime and sweat he walked downstairs expecting to be able to help with dinner. What he found made him growl in annoyance.

The Dursleys had cooked dinner for themselves and left absolutely nothing for him. Worse, all the rest of the food in the kitchen was what was waiting for disposal as the shopping day was the next one. Smiling through gritted teeth he walked out of the house and down to the shopping area of Little Whinging. There he grabbed some fish and chips using money that he'd swiped from Vernon's wallet, along with a Diet Coke for drink.

Once he'd finished he wandered back to Privet Drive, practicing his stealth techniques and listening to the various night time sounds of the animals. This was his way of de-stressing and letting off his residual anger at the Dursleys. He would finish the fence tomorrow and then start his homework before calling up all his patience and determination in order to survive Aunt Marge's visit. He hated the woman with a passion, and was wishing that he knew how to do the Cruciatus curse; it would be lovely to hear her scream whenever she insulted him.

Raiden woke up on the first day of Aunt Marge's visit with a growl. He had managed to mind trick Vernon to sign his Hogsmeade form, using just a touch of magic. He snorted, he'd always known his uncle was weak minded but really, it was embarrassing how easy it had been to use his magic to influence Vernon to sign his form, and then to make him forget about it. Shaking his head, Raiden got up and dressed, before eating a hasty breakfast and going for his usual walk/meditation. He wanted to be well away from the house when Marge arrived. Before he left though, he locked up all his magic possessions, sealing the trunk with a Parseltongue spell. He could have shrunk it and taken it with him but he saw no reason to empty his room just because the guest was someone he didn't like. Smiling, he locked the door with the same Parseltongue spell, ensuring that it wouldn't open to any of the muggles.

When he got back, the first thing he encountered was Ripper, Marge's dog. The little beast came running up to him, growling and snarling. Raiden arched an eyebrow and hissed back at it. He locked eyes with the dog, keeping up a low, hypnotic hissing noise, sounding remarkably like a snake. Ripper stared at the strange human that he used to bully and then ran at top speed back to his owner. His long dormant wild instincts recognized a snake in the human, a snake that was poised to strike. Raiden smirked and walked further into the lounge, coming face to face with Marge Dursley.

"You're still here are you boy" the woman demanded sourly.

Raiden shrugged. "Yup" he said pleasantly, while thinking up ways of torturing her slowly.

Marge frowned. "You're not strict enough with him Vernon, a good beating would cure him of that attitude of his" she complained.

Raiden was then treated to the entertaining site of Vernon struggling to explain to his sister why he couldn't do exactly that to his nephew. The young Slytherin went into the kitchen and found dinner almost ready so he quietly set the table for the 5 of them before taking the dishes through to the table and sitting down.

"Why are you sitting with us?" Marge demanded as soon as he reached for some lasagna.

Raiden looked at her and then replied as if talking to a slow child, "Because I live here and it's dinner time. I do eat you know."

Marge flushed with fury and reached across the table, her hand slapping him across the face with surprising strength. Time seemed to stop as the Dursleys looked between Raiden and Marge with bated breath.

Raiden growled low in his throat. "That one was free you overweight cow," he snarled. "The next time you touch me like that I will hit back, and I don't care if you're a member of the supposedly fairer sex. No one touches me like that."

Marge rocked back in her chair, her brain dimly registering that the boy opposite her was in some way dangerous, and she'd just pissed him off. Raiden resumed his seat, and started eating again, using wandless magic to heal the red mark on his cheek and using meditation to control and release his anger. None of the Dursleys noticed this.

That dinner finished without further incident and Raiden retreated upstairs to send letters to his friends. Salazar was happy to have letters to deliver and took off from the window, spreading his wings and hooting happily. Watching till his friend was a speck in the sky, Raiden then turned to his homework, wanting to start early.

The rest of the week passed as well as it could, with Raiden ignoring Marge, and Marge never again physically touching him the way she had the first night. Vernon and Petunia had relaxed slowly, until the last night threw everything out of control.

Marge had had a few too many brandies and started in on her favorite topic, degrading Raiden's parents. First she started on James Potter.

"A drunk I suppose, and lazy as well," she slurred, not noticing Raiden's slowly bubbling anger.

He snapped back, "He worked as a policeman you bitch", selecting the closest thing to an Auror as possible without mentioning the magical world.

Marge looked at him blearily before saying, "I feel sorry for you Petunia, having your sister be who she was. Don't blame yourself for how this boy turned out; it's not your fault."

Looking straight at Raiden she continued, "It's not even his father's fault, no; it's all to do with his mother." Seeing Vernon and Petunia's interest she continued, "You see it all the time with dogs, if there's something wrong with the bitch then there's something wrong with the pup."

Raiden, who was clearing the dishes stopped at that sentence. Turning back to the dining room he saw Petunia agreeing with Marge and not saying anything in defence of her sister. Marge turned to him and said, "Can't say anything in defence, can you boy. You know it's true, that's why."

Breathing hard, Raiden tried to control his anger and more importantly his magic. The words that Marge was saying seemed strangely distant as lights rattled and glasses exploded. Giving up the fight, Raiden let his magic go.

The result was entertaining. Marge swelled up like a balloon, and floated out of the door. Vernon tried to catch her but the obnoxious woman floated out of reach and then off down the street. Raiden didn't see this as he had stormed up to his room, and was trying to calm down.

The next thing that happened was the sound of several wizards apparating to the house. He walked downstairs to see several wizards from the ministry talking to his uncle. Just then one of the wizards spotted him.

"Harry Potter? I'm Aaron Gray. We detected a large, unfocused surge of magic here. Can you explain what happened?"

Raiden looked somewhat embarrassed. "Yes sir I can. Um, my Uncle's sister has been insulting my parents all week and tonight it just came to a head. I felt lightheaded; everything seemed to go dark for a second. I felt all this magic rushing out of me, glasses exploded and Marge, that's my Uncle's sister, blew up like a balloon. She floated out the door and down the road."

The wizard nodded. "Can you tell me what she said that set you off?" Raiden related the week's worth of insults and the specific comments that preceded that night's incident. When he was finished the wizard nodded. "Completely understandable, Harry. I would be annoyed too if someone insulted my parents like that. We'll just find her and do the necessary memory modification. Are you going to be alright, your relatives don't look too happy?"

Raiden growled. "They know not to touch me and I have friends I can write to if they get too bad," he said. Aaron looked dubious but nodded again, before conferring with his colleagues and leaving, but not without a stern warning to the Dursleys that James and Lily Potter were well respected in the magical community and insulting them further would not be wise.

Once the door closed behind the wizards, Raiden's danger sense warned him just in time for him to duck a blow from his uncle that would have left him unconscious had it connected. He retreated up the stairs, and into his room, but was a fraction of a second too late to lock the door.

Vernon and Dudley came into his bedroom, shutting the door behind them. Petunia had stayed downstairs, as Vernon had told her that he was going to "teach the freak a lesson." Raiden looked at the mad expression in Vernon's eyes and the malice in Dudley's and had time for one thought before the world went black.

'This is going to be bad.'

An indeterminable amount of time later, although in reality it had been only a few hours, Raiden awoke from unconsciousness. He dimly remembered trying to fight back, using magic and his fists and feet to try and fight the two bullies, but he'd been overcome when Dudley grabbed his arms to prevent him gesturing to various items round the room, and repeated blows to his head from Vernon muddled his thought processes enough to stop him from purely using his mind. Stretching cautiously the young wizard winced as he felt sharp pain in his arms, and his ribs. He took an experimental breath and found it was best to breathe in short shallow pants.

'Must have a broken rib or two somewhere' he thought. He rolled over, wincing as he finally sat up with the help of the end of the bed. A concerned hoot filtered through to his brain and he painfully looked up to see Salazar looking concernedly at him. The owl, which was regarded as a menace by everyone except Raiden, hopped onto the floor and fluttered over to Raiden's hand. Eyeing his master the owl then dropped the dead mouse he was carrying onto the teen's lap.

Raiden gave a weak chuckle. "Thanks boy," he whispered, rubbing the owl's head, "but humans don't eat mice. Could you get Draco or his father to come here please? I need help. Go to Malfoy Manor, you'll find them there."

The owl looked at his master for a long minute, before hooting agreeably, scooping up the dead mouse and swallowing it in one gulp. He then rubbed one wing in the blood that had pooled on the floor from several of Raiden's injuries, before dipping his beak and talons in it as well. Armed with evidence of his master's suffering, the black owl took wing, heading towards Malfoy Manor.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen: Summer Holidays Part Two**

Draco was busy with his History of Magic homework and grumbling about stupid ghosts when he heard a tapping on the window. He looked up to see Salazar at the window and sprang to open it. As the owl fluttered in, Draco's interest turned to worry. Normally if Salazar had a letter he would try his best to nip the recipient while they were removing it. Now, though, he carried no letter and his wings and beak seemed darker than usual.

"Hey boy, how's Harry?" the young wizard said. Salazar eyed Draco and then hooted mournfully before hopping onto Draco's essay and running his wing across a blank space on the parchment. Draco stared in annoyance and then leapt to shoo the owl away.

"Oy you stupid bird what did you do..that..for" he trailed off, seeing the red substance on the parchment. Taking a cautious sniff he smelt the distinctive copper tang of blood and went pale. "It's Harry's isn't it?" he said to Salazar. The owl hooted and then cuffed Draco round the head for taking so long to figure that out.

Draco stared at his friend's owl for a minute before saying, "Stay right there, I'll tell my father about Harry. On second thought, come with me." Salazar hooted and flapped behind Draco as he ran to the sitting room where his parents were.

Lucius and Narcissa were enjoying a cup of tea when Draco skidded into the room, out of breath and nearing panic. Lucius frowned before saying, "Draco, what have we told you about running indoors?"

Draco waved off the reprimand, saying, "It's an emergency. Salazar, Harry's owl, just came in my window. He's got blood on his wings and beak and its Harry's. He's hurt, badly. He needs help!"

The two elder Malfoys exchanged a glance, before Lucius held his arm out to Salazar, who landed on it gracefully. Lucius examined the blood carefully before getting up from his chair.

"Where does Harry live, Draco?" he asked crisply.

Draco blinked before realizing that his father was going to help Harry and then answered, "Number Four Privet Drive. He told us at school so we could send owls to him."

Lucius nodded. "I'll go and see him. If he's in as bad a condition as the amount of blood on his owl suggests then I will need to bring him back here quickly and I can't Apparate three people. Floo Severus, tell him to bring healing potions with him, as wide a variety as possible. Apart from that, help your mother get the guest room ready for Harry. He will be staying with us for the rest of the summer and possibly longer if he agrees.

Draco never got a chance to question that last statement as Lucius promptly Apparated to Privet Drive. The wizard found Number Four very easily, as loud yelling was coming from it. As Lucius walked closer he felt the edge of the wards and stopped. Few people knew it but Lucius Malfoy was an accomplished ward breaker. It was what made him so valuable to the Dark Lord, and what made him part of the elite Inner Circle. Examining the wards round Number Four he growled quietly. Blood based, and based on love for the young wizard that lived there. They were almost non-existent given the amount of hate and indifference present in the house, directed at Harry. The sole protection seemed to be that any visitors or intruders in this case, could have no ill intent toward Harry. If they did then the wards would activate.

Snorting elegantly, Lucius stepped onto the front path and walked to the door. As he reached it his keen hearing picked up the sound of a boot hitting flesh and a muffled yelp of pain that the wizard recognized at being from Harry. Growling, he quietly unlocked the door and entered, not before disillusioning himself first.

The scene inside the house enraged him. Raiden was lying on the floor, curled up round his side, while Vernon and Dudley stood above him, kicking him and spitting vile curses at him. Raiden raised his head and hissed something which caused several pots and pans to fly at his attackers. Lucius stood by the wall, impressed at his command of wandless magic and that he was still fighting back.

Then Vernon kicked Raiden in the head again, and Raiden's command of his magic was lost. As he moaned in pain, Dudley kicked him yet again, and was just reaching down to pick Raiden up when an ice cold voice stopped him.

"Do not move, Muggle."

Raiden looked through a haze of pain to see Lucius Malfoy standing just behind the Dursleys, his wand out and a murderous expression on his face. He silently cheered at the rescue, while simultaneously being embarrassed at the need for rescue in the first place.

Lucius nodded to Raiden as he movd forward, herding the Dursleys towards the wall with swift flicks of his wand. When he'd cleared his path to his target, he petrified the muggles with an absent wave of his wand and then knelt by Raiden. With gentle movements he ran his hands down Raiden's body, checking for broken bones and other injuries.

"Does it hurt anywhere, Harry" he said gently. Barely able to think, Raiden nodded, wincing when Lucius pressed gently on his sides and head. Growling inwardly, Lucius gently immobilized Raiden so he couldn't be hurt further by the Apparition. Picking up the nearly thirteen year old wizard, Lucius arranged Raiden in his arms so he was supported and held firmly so he didn't flop around. Once he'd got a firm grip on Raiden, he turned to the Dursleys, and growled out, "I will be back, Dursley, and I will show you exactly what I think of muggles that abuse a wizard child."

Leaving the Dursleys shaking in fear, Lucius then flicked his wand at them again, ensuring that they couldn't tell anyone of his visit. To anyone else, they would say that Harry ran away.

Lucius walked quickly down Privet Drive, carrying Raiden until he felt the wards end and it was safe for apparation. Concentrating hard he apparated to Malfoy Manor, landing in the entrance hall, being met by Draco and Narcissa.

"Come up to the guest room, Severus is waiting there," Narcissa said, casting a look at the unconscious boy that seemed so different from the happy, alive boy she'd seen a few weeks ago, at the train station. Draco was nervous as well, he couldn't imagine the idea that a child could be hurt by their family in the way that Raiden had been. Although he'd known that his friend's family wasn't the nicest, to see this abuse first hand as it were shocked him to the core.

"He, he will be alright won't he?" he asked as they reached the guest room and Lucius put Raiden down on the bed.

Severus, after hissing sharply at the identity of his patient, got to work. Sparing a glance at his other student he said "He will be, Draco, just let me get him back to health."

Draco nodded and let his mother pull him out of the room. The last thing he saw was his father sitting in the chair by the bed and watching Severus work on his friend.

Inside the room, Lucius and Severus were looking intently at Raiden. Severus, although a Potions Master, also had basic Medi-wizard training as part of his certification which was coming in very handy now. After two hours of hard work, during which Severus healed numerous cuts and abrasions, and the deeper injuries as well, which included a bad concussion and some bruised organs. Also on the list were three cracked ribs which were also healed. Finally Severus sat in the other chair and sighed.

"He's as healed as I can make him, Lucius. Now tell me, what is our young Mr Potter doing lying unconscious in your home, and why is he so banged up?"

Lucius growled in annoyance. "Draco came running into the sitting room a few hours ago and told me that Mr Potter was hurt. His owl, Potter's that is, had blood on his wings and beak and was very agitated. I apparated to his home and found his uncle and cousin beating him. He had obviously fought back; tell me Severus, did you know that he could do wandless magic?"

"Yes I knew about it. He can fight with it?" Snape asked, intrigued.

Lucius nodded. "Yes or at least he was. He used wandless magic to make the pots and pans fly round hitting his relatives. Then his uncle kicked him in the head and his magic control left him. I stepped in at that point."

"I see," Snape said, musing on what to do. "Well, he obviously can't go back there, so what do we do with him?"

Lucius looked at his friend as if he was stupid. "I had intended to invite Mr Potter here for the holidays, as Draco wanted to play Quidditch with him. I think I'll do a bit more than that now."

"What do you intend to do?" Snape asked cautiously. Although Lucius Malfoy had been Voldemort's right hand man, with Snape being the left hand one, he wasn't one that took pleasure in torturing children and in fact loathed two things more than anything else in the world. One was child abuse. The other was muggles. The Dursleys had the dubious honor of being both at once, muggles and child abusers. There was no way that Lucius was going to let any muggle get away with harming a wizard, and especially not Harry Potter.

Giving Snape an evil grin, one which vividly reminded Snape of why Lucius was one of Voldemort's most feared Death Eaters, he said, "Get appropriate revenge of course."

"You might wish to hold off on that, Lucius. There is additional information you don't have yet which might, shall we say, _enhance_ your ideas for revenge."

"What information?" Lucius growled.

Snape shrugged. "I have to wait for Mr Potter to wake up so I can see if he wants you to know."

Lucius raised an eyebrow and then rose. "Alert me when he wakes, I have to go reassure my son and wife that he hasn't died."

"Draco I can understand but Narcissa?" Snape asked with a raised eyebrow.

Lucius smirked. "From the moment she met him, she has been in love with him. If I let her she would quite willingly adopt him I think. This will only reinforce her desire to add him to our household."

Snape smirked and just as Lucius had closed the door, Raiden awoke. Finding himself in a different place, the Dark Apprentice cautiously looked around the room, relaxing slightly when he saw his teacher.

"Where am I?" he queried.

Snape shrugged. "You're in the guest room of Malfoy Manor, Mr Potter. Don't you remember how you came here?"

Raiden searched his memory before slowly nodding. "Yes sir, my uncle and cousin were beating the crap out of me and then Mr Malfoy rescued me. I was fighting back but it wasn't good enough. I feel like I failed."

Snape shook his head. "Don't, Mr Potter. It is not weakness, nor is it a failure, to lose against two opponents who are much bigger and stronger than you are. You are only almost thirteen, and despite your, mentor, you do need help occasionally."

Looking around, he leaned closer and in a low voice that seemed to be very menacing, yet the slight spark in his eyes betrayed his amusement, he said, "You're not a Dark Lord yet."

Raiden groaned. "I see you've seen Star Wars," he said with a smirk. Snape smirked back and nodded before growing serious.

"Mr Potter, Lucius is contemplating some action against your relatives, but, well, would it scare you if I told you that he was your master's right hand man?"

Raiden shook his head. "Not at all sir. I assume you're asking for permission to tell him about my rather unique status regarding the Dark Lord?"

Snape nodded and Raiden sighed. "Hang on" he said, before his eyes went unfocused. Snape, recognizing the signs of mental communication, went silent and waited.

Raiden reached over their bond, tapping lightly on his master's shields. Voldemort wasn't busy and had been thinking of checking on Raiden anyway so he responded quickly.

_Yes Raiden, what is it? _he asked. Raiden sighed.

_I'm in Lucius Malfoy's house, and Snape wants to know if I can tell him about our relationship._

_Why are you in Lucius' home and why does he want to know about us? _Voldemort queried, wary of too many people knowing.

_My relatives beat me up and Mr Malfoy rescued me. He's apparently contemplating revenge._

_(chuckle). I almost feel sorry for them. Almost. Tell him; make him sign the parchment though. _

_Thank you Master. I'll do that. _

_Good. Get well, and if I know Lucius he'll use his ministry contacts to get you permanently removed from those muggles. If he does, then let him. I don't want you being killed before you can properly remake the world with me._

_Yes Master. I'll talk later._

_Goodbye_

Raiden cut the connection and sat up in the bed. "Do you have that parchment with you sir?" he asked. Snape cocked his head to the side, and then withdrew the parchment from his robe pocket. He always carried it with him so no one could find it in his desk if they went snooping round. Just then there was a knock on the door and Lucius entered, with Draco and Narcissa following close behind.

"Harry, how are you?" Draco questioned.

Raiden smirked, and then replied, "I'm OK, Draco, thanks to Professor Snape and your father." Looking toward Lucius, he inclined his head and said "Thank you for rescuing me sir, I believe that I may just owe you my life."

Lucius shook his head. "No thanks necessary, Mr Potter, I would have done it for any of Draco's friends. You are welcome to stay here as long as you wish, and I will let you and Draco catch up soon, however, now I need to discuss some information with you and Severus here."

Draco growled at being pushed aside once again but one look from Lucius silenced him. Smiling at Raiden, Draco said, "See you later Harry" before leaving with Narcissa once more behind him, who smiled softly at him before closing the door.

Lucius smirked as the door shut and then fixed Raiden with a piercing stare. "Mr Potter, Severus told me that you had some information for me that might help with my ideas for appropriate revenge against those disgusting muggles that you call relatives."

Raiden sat up against the pillow and met Lucius' stare evenly. "I can't tell you without you signing the piece of parchment that Professor Snape has hold of sir. It will stop people from getting the information out of you in any way."

Lucius raised an eyebrow, looked at the parchment and, seeing Severus' name there, signed himself. A flash of light surrounded him as he was added to the group and then things were ready.

Looking steadily at Lucius, Raiden said smoothly, "I am Lord Voldemort's apprentice."

Nothing else was heard as Lucius had fallen from his chair in a dead faint. Looking at the man curiously, he then looked at Snape and said, "What is it with my position and people fainting sir?"

Snape smirked before waking his friend up. Lucius smoothly rose from the floor, dignity firmly in place, and resumed his seat before saying, "You're telling me that Harry Potter, the saviour of the wizarding world, is the personal apprentice of the Dark Lord?"

Snape and Raiden nodded. Lucius sighed before smirking evilly. "Well, now I'm really going to have fun," he said. At the puzzled look from Raiden he smiled and said, "I don't like child abuse, Harry, nor do I tolerate muggles very well. The two situations are combined in your case. The fact that you are the personal apprentice of our master makes the situation even more intolerable. So, I'm going to show those muggles what happens when you piss off a Death Eater."

Raiden smirked and then said, "Do what you like sir, but may I request two things please?" Lucius nodded at him and Raiden said, "Castrate my cousin, there's no reason for the Dursley genes to be passed on any further, and please don't kill them. I suspect that Dumbledore has some kind of watch on them and it would look suspicious if they died. Apart from that, have as much fun as you want."

Lucius looked surprised and pleased at the evilness of Raiden's suggestion. "You don't want to watch?" he asked.

Raiden shook his head. "No sir, just knowing that they won't be able to hurt me again is enough."

Lucius nodded and then rose from his chair. He stood for a moment before asking, "Do you have a name that you will use when you eventually reveal yourself as the Dark Apprentice?"

Raiden nodded. "Yes sir. I will be known as Lord Raiden."

Lucius bowed slightly. "In that case, I will take myself off and exact some appropriate revenge for your appalling treatment, Lord Raiden."

Standing by the door, he looked back at Severus and said, "Are you coming Severus?"


	16. Chapter 16

**Warning: Torture scene described in here, not too graphic but still, you don't like, you don't read. Don't flame me for it, you have been warned.**

**Chapter Sixteen: End of Summer and a Surprising Offer**

Snape smiled viciously at his friend and rose from the chair, smoothing his robes as he did so. He inclined his head as he replied, "Of course Lucius, just let me go back to Hogwarts for a second, I have some lovely experimental potions I was longing to try out. Rats just don't give the right reactions sometimes you know."

Lucius smirked and then held the door open. "After you, Severus, and don't forget your work clothes." Snape smirked back and then left the room. Raiden tried to get up but his body was a bit weak yet and he fell back.

"Don't try moving just yet young Master, let your body tell you when it's ready," Lucius said softly yet firmly.

Raiden blinked at him in puzzlement.

"Why did you call me that?" he asked.

Lucius frowned. "You are our Master's apprentice, that makes you above us in the Death Eater hierarchy. Therefore, it is a sign of respect."

Raiden frowned. "Mr Malfoy, I may be Voldemort's apprentice but I am still only twelve, nearly thirteen. I'm not yet old enough to feel comfortable with you calling me Master, so please don't."

Lucius shrugged. "As you wish, Mr Potter. I think you'll find though, that when our Master returns, he will insist that we call you by that title, whether you're comfortable with it or not."

Raiden shrugged. "We'll see. One more question sir, why are you switching between calling me Mr Potter and calling me Harry?"

Now Lucius looked uncomfortable. "You are Draco's friend, and therefore I should call you by your first name, Harry. However, you are also the last heir of a pureblood family and I didn't know which form of address you preferred me to use. Therefore I switched between the two, depending on the situation."

Raiden nodded. "OK. I assume that Professor Snape is a friend of the family?"

Lucius nodded. "Yes, he's Draco's godfather as a matter of fact."

Raiden nodded again, and then said, "Call me Harry when not in public. In public, use whatever you feel comfortable with. Oh and please, do not call me Lord Raiden or anything that might give away my true loyalties until our master returns. I'm his spy, his snake in the grass as it were. Dumbledore doesn't suspect me, he's not happy I'm in Slytherin but he doesn't think I'm dark, just a bit misguided. I want him to continue thinking that for now."

Lucius chuckled. "A very Slytherin plan Harry. I approve fully. Very well, I agree to those terms. Are you sure I can't tempt you into coming with us?"

Raiden thought for a moment. "Is the Manor warded against underage magic detection?" he queried, as he remembered something Draco had mentioned in passing about being able to practice magic at home in the summer.

Lucius smirked again. "Yes it is, Harry. What are you thinking?"

Raiden smirked. "Bring my relatives here, I'm certain you have dungeons here somewhere, and we can have fun. My master did say he wanted me to read up on the Dark Arts and if possible begin practicing them sometime soon. What better way to begin my education?"

"What better way indeed. And highly appropriate that Severus and I should be your instructors in our Lord's absence. We'll start off easy, even the most basic Dark Arts can have the most delightfully nasty effects."

Raiden smirked and Lucius stepped outside the door, closing it behind him. Turning round he saw Snape standing in front of him with his Death Eater robes on. The two top Death Eaters shared a malicious smile, before Lucius indicated that Severus should remove the robes.

"It would seem that Harry has a very devious mind Sev," he stated. "He wants us to bring the muggles back here, put them in the dungeon and then have our fun."

Snape snorted. "Why may I ask are we doing it that way?" he drawled.

His friend smirked. "Because I convinced him to join us. We, my friend, are going to give our Dark Apprentice his first lessons in the Dark Arts."

Now Snape smiled fully. "Oh this is going to be _fun,_" he said. "I suppose we don't show up in our uniforms until our subjects are acquired?"

Lucius nodded. "You suppose right Severus. Let's go acquire our teaching aids shall we?"

The two wizards smirked before Apparating to Privet Drive. The Dursleys were acquired without too much trouble, Portkeys being made that led to the Malfoy Manor dungeons. All three were in separate cells but within sight and hearing of each other. The two Death Eaters smirked as they landed back in the entrance hall of the manor and then went to collect their student.

Raiden had got up and moved round as soon as Lucius had left. Draco and Narcissa had come in to help him until he was steady on his feet, which didn't take long. They were discussing the finer points of Quidditch and its effect on grades when there was a knock on the door.

Narcissa opened it to find Lucius and Severus on the other side. She took one look at their robes and masks and nodded. Raiden looked up and saw his two teachers standing just outside the door. He stood and walked towards them.

"Are they ready?" he questioned, his voice quiet, yet cold, as he was experiencing conflicting emotions. He was excited to be finally learning the Dark Arts but was also a bit scared to be practicing on human targets. The fact that his targets were his relatives didn't bother him overly much, they were abusive and cruel, and he was only repaying them in kind. He just didn't want to stuff up in front of his master's two most trusted followers.

"Harry where are you going?" Draco asked.

Raiden turned slightly. "Your father and Professor Snape have acquired my relatives for me. They're going to allow me to have revenge for their treatment of me, and then they're going to go further than I can at present."

Draco's eyes narrowed. "They're going to teach you the Dark Arts aren't they?" he said shrewdly.

Raiden nodded. "Yes."

Before he could speak further, Lucius interrupted him. "We're not going to teach him any more than we taught you, Draco. Think of it as us helping him catch up on what he should know. You'll get him back in an hour or so."

Draco nodded, and then yawned. "Fine. We're going to be up early tomorrow morning though. Quidditch training with Blaise and Daphne."

Lucius looked at the time. "Heavens yes, we should be going. Ready, Harry?"

Raiden nodded and followed his two instructors down to the dungeons. What he saw made his eyes widen. The Dursleys had obviously been dragged out of bed, and Raiden fought not to gag at the sight of Vernon Dursley in boxers.

He stood slightly behind Severus as Lucius walked forward, waking the muggles up with hard kicks to their stomachs. They woke, groaning, only to snarl at the blond haired wizard standing above them.

"Why are we here freak!" Vernon snarled.

Lucius smiled coldly. "You and your family are here, muggle, because I told you that I would exact revenge for what you did to Harry Potter. Now, he happens to be a very important person in our world, and my friend and I don't approve of what you did."

Severus stepped forward. He lowered his voice to the silky, menacing drawl that caused first and second years to wet themselves, and the seniors to tremble, and said, "There are two types of wizards in our world muggle, the muggle-lovers, who wouldn't harm you too badly even though they wouldn't like what you've done to Mr Potter, and the other sort, which I and my friend belong to, who absolutely despise muggles, and only have the bare minimum of tolerance for the lot of you. Mr Potter is in my House at school, and as such, I feel a certain level of protectiveness towards him. My friend is his best friend's father. Now, our sort of wizards love to torture your kind and you're going to experience a world of pain before we're finished with you."

The Dursleys shook with fear, dimwitted they may be but they understood the clear danger they were in. Lucius and Severus shared a glance, then stepped back to reveal Raiden. A discreet flick of Snape's wand before he was revealed had Raiden dressed fairly imposingly even though he still had some growing to do before he reached his full adult height.

Raiden was now dressed in black trousers, and a dark green silk shirt with silver lining at the cuffs and collar which was tucked loosely into the waistband. The trouser legs were tucked into black boots that reached halfway up his calves. A black cloak completed the image. Vernon snarled as he recognized his nephew in the young man standing above him.

"So you lived did you freak," he snarled. Raiden raised an eyebrow before casting his first curse of the night.

"_Tormentia,_" he hissed, sounding very much like Voldemort in that moment, given that the Dark Lord sounded snake like when he cursed people as well. It wasn't parseltonue, just a very sibilant hissing quality to the words.

Vernon writhed for a few moments before Raiden ended the curse. "Don't call me that again Dursley." He waited, locking his eyes with those of his uncle's as the man nodded shakily. Satisfied, Raiden stepped back, before looking towards Lucius and Severus for further instruction.

"What now?" he asked. The two men smirked; it was time for the lesson to begin.

Lucius and Snape stood on either side of him, their wands pointing at Vernon. Snape was the one who began the lesson.

"Now, Mr Potter, aim your wand at the target and say adflicto ossis. Aim for a leg for now, there's no need to aim anywhere that might be lethal."

Raiden nodded, aimed his wand at Vernon's left leg and said "_adflicto ossis_" fairly forcefully. He felt a flare of magic within him and then it died. He looked at his wand in disgust, and then up at Snape and Malfoy. They were looking at him intently but with no sign of pity or disgust.

"Try again, Harry, Draco couldn't do it the first time either. The difference between the Dark Arts and regular spells are that you have to _want_ to cause pain. You have to want your subject to suffer the effects of the spell you're using. This is especially important when you get up to the higher Dark Arts, and the Unforgivables. Now, try again."

Raiden nodded and aimed his wand at Vernon's leg again. This time he thought fiercely about how it hurt when Vernon broke his own leg when he was little. Breathing deeply he said "_Adflicto ossis_."

A jet of sickly yellow light came out of his wand and impacted with Vernon's leg. There was a sound of breaking bone and Vernon howled in pain. Raiden smirked and said, "Doesn't feel so good when it happens to you does it." Vernon snarled at him, almost foaming at the mouth. Disgusted, Raiden cast the spell again and broke Vernon's other leg. He was about to ask for another spell when an idea hit him.

"Professor, do you know what Lockhart did to me during that Quidditch game last year?" he asked.

Lucius looked puzzled but Snape looked positively delighted. "I do Harry, however, it would require a bit of work to cast properly. It's a variation on a summoning charm, which you don't learn till fourth year. Why?"

Raiden shrugged. "I know how painful it was and I wanted my dear uncle to experience its pleasure."

Snape shrugged as well. "If you're serious about leaving these, people, alive then you can always return when you're of age and show them what it feels like."

Raiden almost pouted. "Damn. OK, what other spells can you show me?"

The lesson continued, with both Lucius and Severus showing Raiden the basics of the Dark Arts, until Raiden covered a yawn with his hand. This did not go unnoticed by the two men who promptly stopped the lesson.

"You're tired, Harry, go to bed. You've got the basics down as well as Draco has, and you need to sleep. We'll continue here, Severus still has his potions to try out after all."

Harry looked at Lucius in bewilderment. For all that he didn't show his feelings; he did miss having a family of his own. The closest thing he had to a father at the moment was Voldemort, and he was still a ghost or, whatever else he was. He turned to go and then stopped and turned back.

"I'll go in a minute, I just wanted to say something first. You remember my idea about my lovely cousin," he sneered. Both older wizards nodded. Raiden walked closer and then looked at the Dursleys. "I don't want them hearing about my idea beforehand," he said. Snape and Malfoy exchanged glances and then Snape performed a silencing charm.

When Raiden walked out the door, he left three very fearful prisoners, and two gobsmacked Death Eaters who were positively giddy at the thought of what Raiden would be like as an adult. They looked towards the Dursleys with evil grins as they prepared to do what Raiden wanted.

Dudley was first. Snape pulled a purple potion out of his robe pocket and smiled maliciously. "Open up Mr Dursley. It might taste nicer than the normal potions I make. I wouldn't know, I haven't tried it yet."

Dudley tried everything to keep his mouth closed but didn't succeed, as Lucius pinched his nostrils shut with a flick of his wand. Needing air, the fat boy opened his mouth and as soon as he did, in went the potion.

Snape and Malfoy stood back and watched with detached interest. "Hmm, turning a nice shade of orange. His skeletal structure seems to be rearranging itself. Not what I expected of course."

"What did you expect?" Lucius asked.

Snape shook his head. "It was supposed to be a variation on Skele-grow. Apparently I got it wrong."

"No you didn't. It's not your fault that the potion doesn't work right with muggles."

Snape sighed and reluctantly cast a spell to vanish the potion's effect. Dudley gulped and moaned as his system returned to normal. The Potions Master then stepped back and motioned to his friend.

"Your turn, Lucius," he said with a smirk. Lucius smiled at him and moved forward, aiming his wand at the frightened boy in front of him. Part of him recoiled at hurting a child, and then he remembered that this child was one of Raiden's tormentors. That gave him the needed rationalization and he aimed his wand at a certain part of Dudley's anatomy.

"_Evanesca intestinus castro_" he whispered. He hoped it worked; he hadn't done this particular spell before. He'd castrated victims of course, but this spell wouldn't just castrate Dudley, it would instead vanish the internal reproductive organs, leaving Dudley's balls pretty much useless.

Dudley screamed in pain as he felt his equipment suddenly vanish. He looked down, expecting to see blood. There wasn't any of course. He looked up at Lucius and tried to snarl at him.

"What did you do?" he said. Lucius smirked at him.

"What your cousin wanted," he said. As Dudley looked at him, Lucius smirked before gesturing to Snape. "We're not finished yet though," he added, pleased when Dudley's eyes widened in fear.

"No we most certainly are not," Severus said menacingly. He raised his wand, and cast the spell that Raiden had asked him to cast. Although Dudley would now never be able to have children he would still have been able to have sex. Until the spell hit him of course.

Dudley writhed and shrieked as the spell worked on him. This one was particularly nasty, it ensured that not only could Dudley never have children, he would not be able to become aroused at all, no matter how hard he tried. Muggle aphrodisiacs wouldn't help either.

When the spell had finished, there was one more spell that was cast on him, a spell that ensured that he would be able to tell no one about what had happened to him or his parents at all.

Dismissing the youngest Dursley, except to cast a silencing charm on him, the two wizards proceeded to Petunia. This time, Raiden hadn't really wanted anything special done, and had just asked them to do something appropriately nasty to her.

"Maybe we should set Narcissa on her?" Lucius murmured.

Snape snorted at the mental image. "Maybe but she's probably mothering Raiden to death right now. You do realize you're probably going to end up adopting him, or at least having legal guardianship of him don't you?"

Lucius smirked. "What about you Sev? He holds you in just as much esteem as he does me, probably more so really."

Snape shook his head. "No Luc, I'm unsuited to raise a child. I don't mind being Head of House, but full time parenting? No thanks."

Lucius shook his head. "Oh well, your loss. It can be quite rewarding you know." Snape nodded slowly before reiterating his earlier comment. The two wizards then turned to Petunia and lowered the silencing charm around them that had prevented her from hearing their conversation.

"Petunia Dursley," Snape started, disgust and disdain dripping liberally from every syllable. "How you are in any way related to Lily Evans Potter is beyond me. She was a lovely woman, and you are a jealous, spiteful old hag."

Lucius took over. "How anyone can mistreat a child they're supposed to care for is beyond me. Especially a family member. Harry Potter is your nephew for Merlin's sake and you allowed him to be abused! More than that, you actively _helped!_"

Petunia glared at him but said nothing. Lucius shook his head. "Sev, I'm at a loss as to what to do here. Our student had no specific wishes here so we can be as creative as we wish."

Snape smiled, and it wasn't a nice smile. "How about ruining her reputation? She loves gossip and other such things, how about making her and her husband the source of some, shall we say _unsavory_ rumours?"

Lucius thought for a moment and then chuckled softly. "Especially if some of those rumours prove to be true." The two wizards smiled in anticipation and then Severus turned to the frightened woman on the floor.

"_Legilimens_" he whispered. He rifled through her mind quickly and found the perfect way to hurt her without resorting to physical harm. Pulling out he turned to his companion and smirked.

"This should be right up your alley, Luc. She's obsessed with appearances."

Lucius smirked. "Ah yes, now I know the perfect way to harm her. She likes her home's appearance doesn't she?" Receiving a nod from his friend he smirked again.

"Just cast a spell on her so that no matter how much she cleans her home and tidies up her garden, to outsiders it will appear as though she and her family live in some back alley slum."

The two wizards grinned evilly and then they turned, raising their wands. In unison, they cast the spell, which enveloped Petunia and sank into her skin. Leaving her with the same restrictions as her son, that being that she couldn't talk to anyone about what had happened. Then they turned to Vernon, both of them wishing that they could kill him. Unfortunately they couldn't, Raiden had been specific, no killing allowed.

That didn't mean a bit of gratuitious torture and violence was out though. Smiling evilly they advanced on their prey…

By the time they were finished, Vernon Dursley was in a very sorry state. His eyes were running with tears that he hadn't been able to hold back, and his body bore signs of various torture curses, advanced Dark Arts that neither Raiden nor Draco were magically powerful enough yet to cast. His bones, including the leg that Raiden had broken at the start, had been healed and broken multiple times. Snape had taken Raiden's question and done a Lockhart on two of Vernon's ribs, before healing them with a very painful spell.

Lucius hadn't been outdone, and had shown his creative flair that made him so feared. Vernon was subjected to illusionary horrors, experienced spontaneous organ rejection, making sure the organs were ones that he didn't need anyway. Snape had asked if he really needed his stomach, given that with the amount of fat on him he could probably survive for years without it. Lucius had replied in the affirmative, although it had given him a brilliantly nasty idea.

Two spells later and both Vernon and Dudley would not gain any nourishment from 9 out of every 10 meals that they ate. Worse, to prevent them from pigging out on meals that they would get nourishment from, the order was thoroughly randomized. Any meal that they weren't supposed to gain anything from, would taste like dust. Only the meal that they would gain sustenance from would taste like food.

Once the two Death Eaters had exhausted their creativity, they stood back. Looking at each other they pointed their wands at their targets and cast one last spell. This was a Cruciatus curse, designed so that if they ever thought badly of magic, wizards, or of Harry himself, they would experience an agony that would not drive them insane, but would stay with them. The pain itself would last only a few minutes, but the aftereffects would linger, the worse the thought, the longer the aftereffects.

The Dursleys were then stupefied and returned to Privet Drive, landing back home in their beds, with their memories of the evening intact, but not able to talk of it to anyone, muggle or wizard.

The next day, Raiden awoke with a yawn, stretching out and enjoying the luxurious bed he was in. A knock at the door drew his attention and he called out, "Come in."

Draco entered, dressed in his pyjamas and a robe. He sighed upon seeing Raiden still in bed. "Come on lazy, let's get breakfast and then we can practice Quidditch."

"What about homework?" Raiden asked.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Merlin, don't let my father hear that. He'll start nagging me to do mine as well and then we'll never get to play."

"I'm assuming your good grades these past two years are due to Harry then, am I right?" a voice said from behind them. The two boys looked over to the door to find Lucius lounging against the door frame with an amused smirk on his face.

"My grades are fine, Father," Draco muttered.

Raiden chuckled. "Have you heard of my little grade deception regarding my relatives?" he asked no one in particular. Draco had heard it but Lucius hadn't so Raiden related the story. Lucius laughed, admiring Raiden's cunning and manipulative nature.

"Why don't you leave Harry to get dressed and then show him down to the dining room, Draco" he said before turning to Harry. "Oh and Harry, once you're finished with breakfast, if you wouldn't mind coming to the study, Narcissa and I have something to discuss with you."

Raiden nodded before snickering at Draco's disgusted groan. Lucius merely looked at Draco and then remarked mildly, "It won't take long Draco, and you can practice Quidditch afterwards. Of course, I do expect you to do some homework today."

Turning back to Raiden he added, "I can't really tell you what to do of course, Harry, but since you seem to be the studious one of the two of you I don't expect you'll mind helping him."

Raiden shook his head and murmured a "Not at all sir," before throwing back the covers on the bed. Draco and Lucius left to give him some privacy. In about five minutes Raiden emerged to find Draco waiting for him. As they walked down to the dining room Draco muttered, "My father was looking very happy about something, Harry, something related to you. He might be planning to adopt you, or at least gain guardianship of you, so you don't have to go back to those muggles."

Raiden stopped, which forced Draco to stop as well. "Would that bother you, if he did that?" he asked.

Draco shrugged. "Of course not, but I haven't had to share my parents with anyone before. It might take some adjusting that's all."

"That's assuming you're correct in your idea, Draco. You might not be. Of course, while you'd have to adjust to having a brother of sorts, I'd have a harder time."

"Oh? Why?" was the response.

Raiden shrugged. "I don't know what to expect when it comes to family. I don't know how to act, what's expected, what isn't, that sort of stuff."

Draco laughed. "Harry, it's not that difficult. Besides, we'll get that sorted if it comes to that. It might not."

Raiden laughed and followed Draco into the dining room where they found Lucius and Narcissa waiting for them. Snape had left after the lesson the previous night and was back at Hogwarts.

After breakfast, which was delicious, Lucius and Narcissa escorted Raiden to the study, where they all sat down in a small circle. Raiden kept his eyes fixed on Lucius mainly, although he kept a wary eye on Narcissa as well, given that the witch tended to try and smooth his hair down at every opportunity.

"You wanted to discuss something with me sir?" Raiden asked politely.

Lucius nodded. "Yes we did, Harry. Tell me, do you want to go back to your relatives after this summer?"

Raiden shook his head immediately. "No sir. I think they'd do their best to kill me if I did."

The two Malfoys narrowed their eyes at his pronouncement and shared a glance. Raiden noticed the byplay and narrowed his own eyes.

"Harry, if we could manage it, how would you like us becoming your guardians until you're of age?" Narcissa asked. Raiden chuckled internally. It would seem that Draco was spot on with his deduction of his parents' ideas. He sat back, considering the idea.

"Um, not to be rude or anything, but, we hardly know each other. Not that I'm not grateful, I am, but I don't know how to act as part of a family."

Lucius chuckled and Narcissa leaned forward, pulled Raiden towards her and wrapped him in a hug, noticing that he stiffened at her touch. She let go again and sat back, staring at him with a tinge of sadness in her eyes.

"Well, that's true, Harry, but how about this. Over this next year, we get to know each other, and at the end of the year, you give us your answer. I'll work to get the guardianship papers drawn up, secretly mind you, if Dumbledore found out he'd do everything in his power to stop it, and if you agree, at the end of the year we can sign them," Lucius said with a slight smile.

"Would I keep my name or take the Malfoy name?" Raiden asked.

Lucius and Narcissa exchanged another glance before Narcissa answered. "You would keep your name, Harry, but be under our authority until you turn seventeen, the same as Draco. You would live with us, but still retain any vaults and other things that belonged to your parents. We wouldn't take that away from you."

Raiden thought a bit more about it. Finally he decided to venture a question he'd been hesitant about asking Draco. "What about discipline?"

"Wise question. Never accept an offer from anyone if you're not sure you understand what you're getting into. The answer to the question is simple. You and Draco would be treated exactly the same. We're not into corporal punishment, Harry. If you misbehaved you'd find yourself grounded, or have privileges taken away, that sort of thing. OK?"

Raiden nodded, relieved. He hadn't wanted to ask if Lucius was going to be like Voldemort. Not that he didn't respect and even love his master, he did, but still, his punishments tended to be painful.

"What about my mentor?" he asked.

Lucius smiled. "If you mean Lord Voldemort, contact him and ask about the situation. I'd be surprised if he objected."

Raiden gave the man an odd look before closing his eyes. A few minutes later he opened them. "He is quite happy about this sir, and wants me to tell you to make sure that I'm properly trained. He also wants to say that I am still his apprentice so when he returns, my first loyalty has to be to him." Looking apologetic he added "Sorry."

"Don't be, Harry; I was expecting something like that. I understand completely. It doesn't change our offer though."

Raiden nodded. "Thank you for the offer and I will enjoy getting to know the two of you. Now, who wants to tell Draco to start thinking of me as his brother?"

The three shared a grin before Raiden left the room, and made his way back to the dining room where Draco was waiting for him. The two boys grinned at each other and made their way out to the Quidditch pitch in the back garden.

The rest of the holidays passed in a blur of Quidditch and homework. Lucius and Narcissa gradually stepped into more of a guardianship role with Raiden and he was surprised to find himself responding fairly well to it. The one time he forgot where he was and snarled at Lucius the same way he'd snarl at Vernon, he found himself being marched up to his room and shut in for an hour, after which he was told that he was grounded for the rest of the day. Draco commiserated with him, even as he said that he admired Raiden for having the balls to growl at Lucius that way in the first place. Raiden had shrugged and later apologised to Lucius who accepted the apology and then dropped the matter completely.

A few weeks later Raiden and Draco were seated comfortably in a compartment of the Hogwarts Express, off for their third year at school, both wondering how they were going to handle things if Raiden decided to accept the Malfoy's offer.

**Author Note**

**Please excuse any mistakes when it comes to the Latin for the spells, I found a translator on the Internet but it doesn't do phrases, only words and Latin is obviously not my native language. Hope you liked the Dursley torture, and that it wasn't too graphic for you all. **

**Until next time, may the Force be with you all.**

**Padawan Lynne**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen: Dementors and Discoveries**

The train ride passed uneventfully if you didn't count the unexpected visit from Dementors halfway through. Draco shivered but had no real reaction to it; Blaise and Daphne were the same. Raiden on the other hand had a severe reaction.

Memories came to the front of his mind, memories of the Dursley's treatment of him, and then the most horrifying one of all, his parent's deaths at the hands of his master.

_Lily take Harry and go. Quick, it's him! Take Harry, I'll hold him off!_

_Please not Harry, take me but please not Harry!_

_Avada Kedavra!_

Raiden awoke to find he was stretched out on the seat and then registered the fact that his head was in Daphne's lap and she was gently stroking his hair. He jerked upwards but didn't object when she cautiously put her arm round his shoulders. He sat there for a few minutes, shaking from the aftereffects and resolving to talk to his master. It sure wasn't sounding like Voldemort had tried to reason with them. It sounded more like he murdered them in cold blood.

Shaking his head he noticed Draco holding out a large piece of chocolate. He raised an eyebrow. "Chocolate, Draco?" he enquired.

His friend shrugged. "It's good for recovering from Dementor exposure Harry. Just eat it."

Raiden shrugged and ate the chocolate, closing his eyes in bliss as he felt warmth run straight through him, chasing the cold from the Dementors away. When he'd recovered, they all changed into their robes and prepared for the arrival at Hogwarts.

The feast was excellent, although the news that Dementors would be patrolling the edges of the school grounds was less welcome, and the reason why they were around was even less welcome than that. Personally, Raiden couldn't care less about an escaped mass murderer, but he resented the fact that their education might be disrupted by floating black creatures that looked like something out of your worst nightmares. It was no surprise that his friends agreed with him.

Shaking off the news, the Slytherin Quartet walked to the common room, eager to catch up on the news of their holidays. Blaise and Daphne had been filled in on the rescue, and the events that precipitated it but were still filled with outrage that a muggle had hurt their friend. They were amused at the punishment the Dursleys had received though and Blaise had shuddered playfully and asked Raiden to remind him to never piss him off.

The first few weeks passed peacefully as well, with the most fun coming from DADA and Transfiguration. DADA was fun due to the Boggart lesson, although Raiden was a bit uncomfortable with the way the new DADA teacher, Lupin, kept staring at him with something akin to sadness in his eyes. Raiden's boggart had been a Dementor, and he had been highly insulted when one of the Gryffindors assumed that his boggart would be Lord Voldemort, or You Know Who as the Gryffindor said.

"I mean honestly, why am I supposed to be afraid of Voldemort?" he muttered later that week in the relative privacy of the third years dormitory, flopping down on his bed in frustration. His friends merely murmured things designed to calm him down which partially worked. Daphne flopped down next to him, and smirked when Raiden gave her a startled, and slightly sour look but made no effort to try and push her off the bed.

"You managed to impress Lupin though. Apparently having a Dementor as your worst fear means that your worst fear is fear itself. I heard him discussing it with Professor Snape the other day," Blaise remarked. Raiden pushed himself up a bit and propped his chin on his hands.

"I suppose so, but honestly, who can make a Dementor look ridiculous enough to laugh at?" he queried, frustrated and annoyed by this little fact. His friends had no answers for him there and they dropped the topic in favor of looking at their homework, the amount of which was astronomical, and had nothing to do with Astronomy. The Slytherin Quartet had chosen the same third year electives, Ancient Runes and Arithmancy. The work was challenging but interesting and kept them arguing for hours on various problems. Raiden was about at average level in the classes, as he was learning how to wrap his brain round the abstract concepts required in the courses. He was assured that with time and practice he would become better at it. Daphne and Blaise just seemed to have more of a natural ability in these subjects than he did at the present time.

A few weeks after that came the first Hogsmeade visit and the discovery that would shake Raiden's comfortable world up a bit. He got dressed on the day and went to Hogsmeade after handing in his signed permission slip, and smiling sweetly at a glaring Filch. After looking in Zonko's and sniffing round the Shrieking Shack, he overheard a conversation between Madam Rosmerta, who ran the Three Broomsticks pub, and Professor McGonagall.

"…Sirius Black in Hogsmeade! What would bring him here?!" Rosmerta snapped indignantly.

McGonagall leaned forward and whispered to her, "Harry Potter." That was enough for Raiden as he swiftly told his friends where he was going and headed off to follow McGonagall and Rosmerta up the stairs to a private meeting room.

"So Sirius betrayed the Potters to You Know Who did he?" Rosmerta asked hesitantly. McGonagall nodded and then related the whole sorry story.

"He was their secret keeper, they were hiding under a Fidelius charm. Peter Pettigrew found out about his betrayal and went after him. Sirius killed him, and twelve muggles who were innocent bystanders, with one spell. The only piece left of Pettigrew was his finger."

Raiden didn't hear any more. Overcome by a blinding, choking wave of rage and grief he ran down the stairs, out of the pub and away from Hogsmeade altogether. His friends could follow him as he had not bothered to hide his presence from magical detection and a quiet Point Me spell located him easily enough.

The other members of the Quartet approached him cautiously, not sure about how to handle him when he was this angry. Raiden's magic was crackling in the air around him and he was breathing heavily in an attempt to control it but it wasn't working too well. Finally Daphne had a crazy idea.

"He needs to be shocked out of this so he can regain control," she said to Blaise and Draco, both of whom nodded but didn't have much idea of how to go about calming their friend down. Daphne shook her head before screwing up her courage and kneeling in front of Raiden so she could see his face properly. Before her courage could leave her she put both hands on his head, one on either side, and then kissed him firmly for a minute before letting go and retreating a bit in case he lashed out.

Raiden was definitely shocked enough to be able to realize what was happening with his magic. A few deep breaths had it brought firmly under control once more and then he blushed as he realized exactly how he'd been shocked out of his numb state. Looking at Daphne he saw that she was just as embarrassed as he was about it. It didn't help that Draco and Blaise were softly humming the tune to "Love is in the Air" in the background.

Getting up he ignored the two immature idiots and approached Daphne who was looking at him as if she feared losing his friendship. Smiling softly he reached for one of her hands, entwining her fingers with his own.

"Thanks Daphne. I needed that, and as unorthodox a method as it was it worked. I liked it too." Daphne nodded and then dared to move closer and tentatively hug him. Raiden brought his arms up round her out of reflex and was startled to discover how natural it seemed. They moved apart almost reluctantly, neither willing to go further than they had but both wrestling with the fact that they liked the other as more than simply a friend. Finally they decided to not speak of it to anyone else and let things develop naturally and at its own pace.

"Harry, can you tell us what set you off like that?" Blaise asked hesitantly.

Raiden shivered before asking, "Draco, that issue that we discussed over the holidays, can a godfather overturn that in the event of a positive ruling in our favor?"

Draco shook his head. "He could try but in our world, the wishes of the child are strongly taken into account. Why?"

Raiden swallowed. "Because, well, you remember when Black supposedly broke into Hogwarts and attacked Gryffindor Tower?" Seeing nods from his friends, he took a breath and said, "Sirius Black is my godfather. Apparently my parents were hiding under a Fidelius charm and Black was the secret keeper. He betrayed them to Lord Voldemort. He caused their deaths."

The Slytherin Quartet looked at each other, stunned at the implications of this. Raiden had been Voldemort's apprentice for five years now but this could potentially shake his loyalty and sway him to the Light side, which would be disastrous for everyone involved with him. Draco thought for a minute before asking, "What do you plan on doing about it?"

"Nothing. If he finds me then he finds me, and I'll kill the bastard. If the Dementors catch him then he'll be given the Kiss and I'll have lost a nice chance for revenge but that's all. He's not family to me guys and will never be family. I would have to ask my mentor about the circumstances though; there are things that don't quite add up in my mind. Maybe I'm just seeing things that aren't there but I'd like to be sure anyway.

His friends nodded silently and they began the trek back to the school, each pondering the startling revelation that Raiden had discovered, while Raiden himself was working out a good time to contact his master and ask for a detailed explanation of what had really happened in the aftermath of his destruction and whether Black had been a Death Eater or not. One thing was certain, the explanations that satisfied him as a child were starting to look a bit flimsy and have unexplained holes in them. This would have to be rectified at the earliest opportunity.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen: Classes and Talks**

Raiden had had no time to contact his master since finding out that the mass murderer on the run was in actuality his godfather. He had written to Lucius and Narcissa explaining the situation and had received a reply back assuring him that it didn't change their minds about the guardianship offer and they wouldn't have any trouble winning a court dispute if it came to that. Both Raiden and Draco were relieved by this; they were enjoying being a sort-of-family and didn't want to stop overly much.

Another thing on Raiden's mind was Daphne. Ever since she kissed him on that Hogsmeade weekend, his mind had been in a whirl. He liked her, he knew that, and she wouldn't have kissed him if she didn't like him. So what if they were only thirteen, they could at least start the beginnings of a relationship, and had done exactly that, although it was more the hand holding, occasional hug, and sitting close together sort of beginning, neither had attempted to kiss the other again since that day. Raiden had occasionally caught Hermione looking at the two of them with a hint of envy, and he had tried talking to her about it but she had retreated from him, saying that she didn't want his girlfriend to get jealous.

Daphne overheard this part and swiftly explained the situation to their Ravenclaw friend, and finally Hermione felt comfortable enough to join them for study sessions once again, which she had dropped since Raiden and Daphne began their "relationship." Draco and Blaise had learnt not to tease either of the pair about it as Raiden had asked them if they wanted to be subjected to a milder version of the castration curse that had been used on his cousin, this version being one that kept the internal organs in place but temporarily shut them off. Both boys had shuddered and taken on the role of protecting the two from their housemates ridicule instead.

Currently they were in Transfiguration and were learning to transform animals into goblets. Raiden couldn't see the point of this but obediently worked on the transformation, not wanting McGonagall to be annoyed with him. He had done some digging in the library and discovered why Lupin seemed to be interested in him; he had been friends with his parents and also with Sirius when they were in school. Raiden had decided to ask Professor McGonagall about the group of them, hoping to get more insight into why Sirius might be trying to kill him.

Once the class was over Raiden approached the professor, feeling his friends at his back for support. McGonagall looked up to see the four Slytherins in front of her and raised an eyebrow.

"May I help you?" she asked.

Raiden smiled. "I hope so Professor. I was wondering, did you know my parents and Sirius Black were friends in school?"

McGonagall was wondering what brought this on and cautiously replied, "Yes they were. Another one of their friends was Professor Lupin actually. What do you want to know, Mr Potter?"

Raiden took a breath and then said "I know that Sirius Black is my godfather and I was wondering why he would try to kill me if that were true. From my reading, and talking with Professor Snape and Draco, the bond between godparent and godchild should stop him from doing any harm to me."

McGonagall put down the essay she was grading. "Sit down Mr Potter, and your friends too" she added when she saw that the rest of the Quartet weren't going anywhere. "Your father, Professor Lupin, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew were all friends in school. They formed a group known as the Marauders and played lots of pranks on everyone. Your mother didn't get together with your father until their seventh year but she remained on the fringes of the group, to keep an eye on them. Your group, Mr Potter, the Slytherin Quartet as I believe you're known, reminds me a lot of them, with the exception of the fact that your group is more studious and less trouble making.

Now, when your parents went into hiding, they used a complicated charm known as the Fidelius charm which essentially hid their location inside a person, a Secret Keeper, and they could only be found if that person willingly gave up the secret. Your parents chose Sirius Black as the Secret Keeper, and he betrayed them to You Know Who. Peter Pettigrew went after Sirius after your parents had died and Sirius killed him, as well as twelve muggles who were bystanders and witnesses to the incident. Black was taken to Azkaban shortly afterwards."

Raiden nodded, digesting the information. "Was he a supporter of Voldemort?" he asked.

McGonagall shuddered at the name but then sighed. "We wouldn't have thought so Potter, and he wasn't marked but why else would he betray your family?"

Raiden shrugged. "I don't know but if he ever finds me that's something I'll be sure to ask him. Just so I have the facts before I kill him" he growled. McGonagall looked a bit worried at the thought of a revenge seeking Harry Potter but let them go with an admonishment to not specifically go looking for Black as they were all still only thirteen years old.

Raiden left the room with a frown on his face, and split up from his friends. He had to speak with Professor Lupin and find out more about this, and then, once he was done with that he would contact his master and find out the truth of whether Sirius Black really was one of his master's followers or not. The mention of a mark intrigued him, another thing to ask his master.

Later that day, after classes, Raiden sought out Professor Lupin. He found the man grading papers in his office and he looked up with a smile which faded slightly when he saw Harry.

"What can I do for you, Harry?" he asked.

Raiden looked at the man that had been his father's friend and then sat down before replying, "Can you tell me what my father and the rest of the Marauders were like in school?"

Lupin looked surprised but checked the time and then willingly told Raiden several stories, including one that explained why Snape had originally disliked Raiden before getting to know him. It would seem that the rivalry between Severus Snape and James Potter matched the one between the Malfoys and the Weasleys.

Raiden then asked, "What was Sirius Black like?"

Lupin closed down almost immediately. "Why do you want to know about him?" he asked.

Raiden frowned. "I was told that he was my godfather and from the reading I've been doing he shouldn't have been able to harm me because he's my godfather so why does everyone think he's out to kill me?"

Lupin looked uncomfortable. "When the Minister visited Sirius in Azkaban he asked him for the paper. He then started muttering, "he's at Hogwarts" over and over. The article he saw was one of the Weasley family in Egypt. It mentioned you as well and that you were at Hogwarts. Shortly afterwards, Sirius escaped and I can only assume that he is after you."

Raiden nodded slowly. "I see. OK, one more question then. Why do you seem so sad when you look at me? You were also surprised when you saw I was a Slytherin."

Lupin sighed. "Harry, I, well, you are the last link I have to Lily and James. They were both Gryffindors and I was shocked to see you in a house that James especially despised when we were here."

Raiden's eyes narrowed. "Are you saying that my father would have hated me because I'm a Slytherin?" he growled.

Lupin shook his head. "No, no by the time he and your mother married and had you he had grown up enough to admit that not all Slytherins were evil, and he would have loved you no matter what house you were in. I'm just saying that the Marauders and Snape epitomized the Gryffindor/Slytherin rivalry when at school that's all. The fact that most of our year's Slytherins became Death Eaters didn't help matters either."

Raiden nodded. "Thanks Professor. I'll keep an eye out for Black; I'm not going to let him kill me." Lupin nodded and waved Raiden out of the room before going back to his previous activity of grading papers. Raiden left with one thought on his mind, unraveling the mystery of what really happened on Halloween in ninteen-eighty-one. Before he could do that though, he needed dinner.

After dinner, Raiden sought out Professor Snape. After a few questions, Raiden was left with even more questions for his master. Snape had told him about Voldemort's general method of operating, and it had left Raiden feeling rather sick. He did find out about the Dark Mark though, and had seen the faded one on Snape's left arm. Both of them had been startled, and in Snape's case slightly worried, that one word of Parseltongue from Raiden had managed to darken the Mark once again for a few moments. They hadn't repeated that experiment. Raiden now wondered if Voldemort really did want to change or whether he was just using him to achieve his own goals. There was only one way he was going to find out.

On the next weekend, Raiden sequestered himself behind the curtains on his bed, saying that he needed some privacy for an important conversation. Knowing that he meant a conversation with Voldemort, the rest of the Quartet brought their homework to the dorm and locked the door, not minding the silencing charm that Raiden put up round his bed. Sure that he wasn't going to be overheard, Raiden settled himself on the bed and closed his eyes, reaching over the bond to his master.

_Do you need anything Raiden?_ Voldemort asked.

_Yes Master I do. Any chance you can come to Hogwarts. I need to talk to you,_ Raiden replied.

Voldemort thought for a moment. _Alright, I'll be there momentarily_ he said before closing the bond. Raiden sat back and waited. Voldemort had somehow managed to perfect a way of appearing wherever Raiden was, which baffled the younger wizard to no end since it shouldn't really be possible. He wasn't above taking advantage of it though.

A few minutes later, Voldemort appeared on the foot of Raiden's bed, and hovered above the bedcover, facing his apprentice. With a raised eyebrow he asked, "What did you want to talk to me about, Raiden?"

Raiden fixed Voldemort with a look that said he wasn't going to be deterred from getting a straight answer and then said, "Was Sirius Black ever a Death Eater or supporter?"

Voldemort shook his head. "No he wasn't. I tried to recruit him many times but he always refused. Why the interest?"

"Because everyone is saying that Black escaped Azkaban to kill me. He supposedly killed Peter Pettigrew and twelve muggles by blowing up the street."

Voldemort frowned. "Black wasn't a supporter of mine but I managed to recruit Pettigrew. Again, why are you asking?"

Raiden sighed. "Black was supposedly my parent's Secret Keeper and gave their location to you. A few hours after you learnt their location, they were dead. Explain how Black could have given you their location if he wasn't a supporter?"

Voldemort was thinking furiously. 'Shit shit shit, if he continues like this he'll ask about what really happened that night. If I don't have a convincing reason for killing them then I'll lose him. Oh shit.'

He answered "Because he didn't. Black and Pettigrew switched the Secret Keeper job. It was Pettigrew who gave me the location, Pettigrew who betrayed your parents and you. Was there any other reason you're asking about that night?"

Raiden nodded, his eyes cold and hard. "I don't know if you heard but the Hogwarts Express was boarded by Dementors on the way to school this year, searching for Sirius. Turns out I have a bad reaction to the things."

Fixing his eyes on his master, Raiden said softly, "I heard my parents' deaths. I heard my dad tell my mum to take me and go, I heard mum pleading with you to kill her and leave me alone, I then heard you say the killing curse, for what I assume was your attempt at killing me."

Cocking his head to the side, Raiden finished with, "You told me that you tried to talk to them before killing them, you told me that you tried to bring them over to your side. Instead, what I remember sounds an awful lot like what I've heard about your usual method of operation, that being cold blooded murder. Do you care about me at all, Master, or are you just using me for your own ends? Remember that I'm a Slytherin as well, so I don't like being manipulated."

Voldemort was now caught in his own web and he saw no way out apart from telling the truth and hoped that he still had an apprentice once he was finished.

"Raiden, I didn't lie to you," he said. Seeing his apprentice's disbelieving look he hissed in annoyance and said, "I didn't. I did stretch the timelines a bit. I tried talking to your parents for several months before I killed them. The last time I tried talking to them they met me with Avada Kedavra curses which missed me but hit the two Death Eaters near me. I knew then that no amount of talking would persuade them but I also couldn't keep losing followers to them. I went there that night to stop them from depriving me of any more of my forces."

"And what about me?" Raiden asked with a sneer. "Was I just collateral damage, or did you get your thrills from murdering a defenceless infant?" He knew he'd gone too far when Voldemort's expression became decidedly unpleasant and a sharp burst of pain in his scar caused him to emit a yelp of pain.

"I do not "get my thrills" as you put it from murdering children. Some of my followers do, I will admit that, but I do not. If I have to kill children I do it quickly and cleanly. One Killing Curse and it's over. No blood, no pain. Just death. When I turned my wand on you I was thinking of reuniting you with your parents and stopping a potentially powerful threat to me in the future. We both know how that one turned out," Voldemort finished sarcastically.

Raiden tilted his head again and then asked, "If you had been worried about me being a threat, why didn't you take me with you instead of trying to kill me? You could have raised me as your son, your heir, and I would never have even thought of harming you."

Voldemort nodded. "I could have, yes, but I didn't know anything about raising a child and I didn't want to give you to one of my followers. Besides, what do you think I was thinking of when I made you my apprentice? I didn't think I could care for anyone, and yet you managed to find my heart, which even most of my followers will swear is non existent, and capture it. I care about you more than anything else, except for my familiar Nagini which is a very odd thing for a Dark Lord I'll have you know. We're not supposed to care about others, except our familiars that is."

"Does it say that in the Dark Lord's Handbook or something?" Raiden joked. Voldemort smirked at him and didn't reply. Raiden shook his head.

"OK so you did murder my parents, and Sirius Black is on the Light Side. Why would he try to kill me?"

Voldemort shrugged. "Peter Pettigrew and his former Marauder friends were Animagi. All except for Lupin who is a werewolf. If I told you that Pettigrew was a rat animagus, and he's still alive right now, tell me, how could the Aurors come to the conclusion they did?"

Raiden thought hard. He examined what he knew of the case against Sirius and then he looked straight at his master. "The street was destroyed with what I suppose would be a blasting curse. The largest part of Pettigrew that they ever found was his finger." He thought a bit more before breathing out slowly as the plan became apparent.

"Bloody hell. Pettigrew cut off his own finger and blew the street up behind his back before he disappeared into the open sewer. No one would notice one more rat. Sirius was left as the only suspect."

Voldemort nodded, pleased with how Raiden had figured it out. His apprentice had one more question though. "If he's survived for this long as a rat, he'd be missing a toe right? So," he trailed off as he realized something.

"Hang on Master. I have an idea," he said before he dispelled the charms on his bed and stuck his head out of the curtains. His friends looked up at his odd appearance.

"Can one of you go get Weasley's rat?" he queried. The rest of the Quartet looked at each other and shrugged before Daphne and Blaise got up and left. About fifteen minutes later they were back, with Daphne holding a squeaking rat by the tail. Raiden smiled at his sort-of girlfriend and petrified the rat before taking it from Daphne and disappearing behind the curtains again, raising the silencing barriers once more.

"Is this Pettigrew?" he asked. Voldemort examined the frozen rat form and nodded. "Yes, Raiden it is. What do you intend to do?" he asked.

Raiden smirked at his master. "You might not have been able to turn Sirius to the "Dark Side" but I think he'd do practically anything for his godson. Let me work on him, let me explain our changed goals and maybe he'd come over. He probably won't want to follow you directly but what if we made a sort of subgroup of my friends that don't necessarily want to be Death Eaters but do want to be on our side? He could be one of my advisors for that group. Loyalty to me would be just as good as loyalty to you after all."

Voldemort thought about it for a few minutes before reluctantly nodding. "See if it can be done, Raiden. If it can't be done, if he reacts badly, then I want you to promise that you'll neutralize him appropriately. I don't want you compromised before you've finished your NEWTs."

Raiden nodded silently. He was about to end the conversation when Voldemort asked, "How did you know that Pettigrew was Weasley's rat?"

Raiden smirked before replying, "Weasley mentioned that his rat's been in his family for twelve years. An ordinary common garden rat like this one only lasts about seven or eight years. He had to be either a magical rat or an animagus. What other rat animagus would hide as a rat, in a wizarding family, for twelve years without revealing himself, unless he had reason to hide? Also, how many other rat animagi are there that would be missing a toe? There were too many coincidences, Master which is why I thought of him."

Voldemort nodded. Looking uncharacteristically nervous, he asked, "What are you going to do about what I've told you?"

Raiden looked at his master sharply and then replied slowly, "Nothing. I'm not happy that you misled me, or bent the truth, but I can understand why you did so even if I don't like it. I also don't like that you just waltzed up to my parents' house and killed them. It'll take a while to truly get over that. I do want a couple of things from you in order to start putting this behind me."

"What is that?" Voldemort asked.

Raiden smirked and replied, "I doubt the Ministry will be able to hold the rat in custody, so if he escapes and rejoins you, then his life is mine. He betrayed a family, betrayed a trust, and for that he has to pay. I also want a duel against you when you've got your body back, a duel where I'm allowed to curse you but you don't send any truly harmful ones back."

"A duel which allows you to vent your anger at me without either of us being truly harmed," Voldemort murmured. "Very well, I agree. The duel will be private though, I can't afford to show weakness in front of the Death Eaters."

Raiden nodded and then picked up the petrified form of Pettigrew. "I think it's time to bring in Professor Snape," he said. Seeing Voldemort nod he turned to dismantle the spells on the curtains and stopped when he heard Voldemort say "Wait."

Turning back to his master he looked at him enquiringly. His master looked very serious and Raiden felt his mood changing to match. "Is there something else you wanted, Master?" he asked. Voldemort nodded.

"I am very close to achieving at least a partial body, Raiden. It will need to be sustained by various things which Nagini will help me with but I will need a human helper to prepare the potions and other things. I have found a rebirth ritual which I won't be putting into action until next year, as the preparations will take the rest of this year and most of the next."

"Why are you telling me this?" Raiden asked.

Voldemort smirked. "I am telling you so you know that there is a solid date for when I'll officially return. I also have found something to do with the ritual which I want to explain to you. The ritual can have two forms, one using the blood of an enemy which won't actually work as we're not enemies. The other form is one which would bind us as family, a closer bond than master and apprentice. It would in essence, make us father and son."

"And you want me to think on which form to use," Raiden sighed.

Voldemort snorted. "No. I've told you that the enemy form wouldn't work as we're not enemies. What I'm not sure about is whether you want to use the second form, given what you now know about how your true parents died."

Raiden sighed again. "Do I need to give you my answer now?" he asked.

Voldemort shook his head. "No you don't, just think about it and give me your answer when you have it. It needs to be given before the end of next year as the end of next year is when I'll make my official return. Should you not want to use this ritual then an answer sooner is better as I will need to find another way to return."

With that he vanished soundlessly, leaving Raiden sitting on his bed with a petrified rat animagus in front of him, and a lot to consider. Raiden knew, although he didn't know how he knew, that the decision he made regarding Voldemort's revelations and the rebirth ritual, would change both him and the wizarding world irrevocably. Now he just had to make that decision.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen: Sirius Decisions**

Raiden sighed as he walked out of the last exam of the year. He had spent the last two months wrestling with the dilemma that Voldemort had presented him with as well as studying for his exams. Now that the exams were finished he could devote his time to fully and carefully considering what he knew of his master's previous actions and what he knew of the man from the five years he'd spent as his apprentice.

He had made his way to the Slytherin common room without really realizing it. He gave the password and entered the large room. Despite what the other Houses thought, the Slytherin common room was quite cosy with large fires burning most of the year and dark colors that seemed to be inviting rather than cold and harsh. Flopping down on the couch he shook his head and sighed again.

"Tired Harry?" one of the prefects asked.

Raiden looked up and smirked. "Yeah a bit. If this is how I feel now, how will I cope with the OWLs?"

The prefect laughed and replied "It gets easier. You just had a really bad exam timetable. OWLs are usually spaced out a bit more than school ones because they're longer and more tiring."

Raiden nodded before getting up and going to his room. He needed privacy to start considering his decision concerning Voldemort's offer. With the curtains closed and spelled appropriately he lay back on his bed and closed his eyes.

First thing was the fact that his master, for all intents and purposes, had been trying to act like Adolf Hitler in the Muggle Second World War. He had done some more research and found descriptions of what Voldemort and his Death Eaters had supposedly done in the name of "purifying" the wizarding world. Through careful questions to Severus and Lucius he had discovered that most of the more petty crimes were actually not committed by Death Eaters but by opportunistic criminals that were taking advantage of the chaos the Death Eaters caused. Another myth was the "fact" that Voldemort had hundreds of followers. What he actually had was an inner circle of 4, and an outer circle of about ten or twelve Death Eaters. The "hundreds" were actually unmarked supporters and sympathizers, not full Death Eaters, and most of them were in various departments of the Ministry.

Second was that Voldemort had personally murdered his parents. Raiden frowned, for all that he looked up to, and cared about, Voldemort, he couldn't quite get rid of the images of his parents' deaths. Shaking his head, he then thought of the result of that little operation and gave a slightly bitter chuckle. Holding grudges didn't help anyone in the present situation and spending the last thirteen years as a spirit was enough punishment, Raiden felt. Besides there was the issue of Voldemort taking him under his wing and teaching him. If he was truly an evil, heartless monster, he wouldn't have done that at all.

Third was that Voldemort hadn't really tried indoctrinating him with his views, he'd allowed Raiden to form his own opinions and hadn't tried to talk him out of decisions regarding his choice of friends, except to warn him to take precautions against possible future betrayal. Hermione hadn't yet met him but Voldemort had occasionally observed the Slytherin Quartet when they were with Hermione and he grudgingly approved of the young witch. Raiden's dislike of muggles only really went as far as his relatives, who had been dealt with. His comments on the Hogwarts Express before first year notwithstanding he really didn't have any issues with blood purity, he was more interested in magical strength than blood type.

Four was that Voldemort had slowly changed his own views from killing all muggles and muggleborns to Raiden's views of allowing the strong muggleborns in and preserving wizarding secrecy some way that didn't involve mass murder and mayhem.

Shaking his head, Raiden rolled over on his side. A quick spell had his shoes and tie off and another ensured he would be woken in time for dinner. He then slipped off to sleep, tired from the exams and needing to replenish his energy before he made any type of decision at all.

Waking up when his alarm went off, Raiden rolled off the bed and went up for dinner where he was met by his friends. He answered "Asleep" when they asked where he'd disappeared to after the exam and they left him alone after that. None of them knew about the Voldemort dilemma and he was going to keep it that way. The two other people he'd talked to about it had been Severus and Lucius, and both had basically told him to make his own decision and not let himself be influenced by outside parties. Raiden had grown comfortable around Lucius and he was more than ready to say yes to the guardianship offer in the week or so that was left before the end of the year. Severus was his Head of House and as such was a confidant of sorts as well for the issues that Raiden couldn't tell his friends or the prefects.

After dinner, Raiden wanted nothing more than to go back to bed but was enticed into a game of Exploding Snap instead and then chess after that. Losing both games spectacularly, he finally excused himself and went to bed, needing more sleep before he did any more thinking. It was hard to make decisions when your brain felt like mush after all.

A week later Raiden had made his decision regarding Voldemort. He might not like what the man had done during the First War as it was called, and he certainly disliked what he'd done to his parents but he couldn't hold it against him forever. After all, war was war and it was a fact of life that in war, people die. He had also examined his apprenticeship situation and found that he didn't want that to end anytime soon. Voldemort might be harsh with his punishments at times but he genuinely cared about Raiden, the Chamber of Secrets incident had proven that. Now he just had to figure out the Sirius Black situation.

He had taken Pettigrew to Snape the day after the conversation with Voldemort and upon hearing the story, Snape had taken the rat and him to Professor McGonagall. One Animagus reversal spell later and the truth came out. Dumbledore and the Minister were called, and Raiden immediately took a strong dislike to Cornelius Fudge as the man refused to exonerate Sirius without a full trial and Veritaserum being given to Pettigrew to prove who he was.

"I believe Sirius Black didn't get a trial in the first place, _Minister,_" he sneered. Fudge looked shocked and tried to bluster his way out of the problem but didn't succeed. The result was that Pettigrew told everything he knew under the influence of Veritaserum and Sirius Black was formally pardoned.

At the Leaving Feast, Raiden was just finishing his meal when Snape came down to the table. Tapping Raiden's shoulder he indicated that Raiden should follow him out of the Great Hall. Once outside the hall Raiden had to hurry to keep up with his teacher and finally he panted out, "Sir, slow down please. What's going on?"

Snape stopped abruptly, not having realized how fast he was moving. Turning to Raiden he said, "I apologise, Harry, but a situation has come up concerning you. Now that Sirius Black has been pardoned he wishes to obtain custody of you, as your parents specified in their will." He held up a hand as Raiden started to protest. "The Malfoys are up in Dumbledore's office right now, along with Black, and they are all having a fine shouting match over you."

"Will I have to go with him? I hardly know him," Raiden said, his eyes narrowed at the thought that he might be snatched away from the Malfoys.

Snape shook his head. "Although your parents specified that he is your godfather they did say that if circumstances were such that he was unable to take care of you, that you be placed with another wizarding family." Looking sideways at his student, Snape continued, "You might be interested to know that Lily was very specific that you NEVER go to the Dursleys. Dumbledore knew this and disregarded it."

Raiden had no time to think about this evidence of Dumbledore's stupidity because they were at the gargoyle that guarded the entrance to Dumbledore's office. After a ride on the staircase they entered the office and Raiden got his first good look at Sirius Black for the first time that he could remember.

Sirius stood, his eyes fixed on Raiden. "Harry," he whispered.

Raiden nodded stiffly. "Mr Black," he replied, sensing Snape's presence behind him and grateful for the silent support that he was giving. Sirius flinched slightly at the formality from Raiden but after a brief struggle apparently accepted that Raiden wasn't just going to run into his arms.

"Your, your parents named me your godfather," Sirius tried again, confused that Raiden seemed to be almost assessing him.

Raiden nodded once again. "I know. I also know that they wanted you to be my guardian or if not you then another wizarding family."

Sirius nodded and replied, "Yes that's right. I was wondering, well, I can understand if you want to stay with your aunt and uncle, but if you ever wanted another home you could live with me." His eyes were filled with so much hope that it was almost painful.

Raiden shifted a bit and then said, "Can we take this discussion somewhere more private?" Dumbledore nodded and gave directions to the guest suite where Sirius was staying while he visited Hogwarts. On the short trip there, Raiden took the opportunity to study his godfather.

Sirius looked surprisingly good. Raiden supposed that he had got some decent meals and nutrition potions to undo the damage that Azkaban had done. He had filled out from the skeletally thin man that Raiden had seen in the photo in the Daily Prophet. Without the haunted look in his eyes, Sirius was regaining the handsomeness that he'd had when he was younger.

Reaching the guest suite Raiden immediately put up silencing charms so no one could hear their conversation. Lucius and Narcissa had followed them, as had Snape. Once they'd all sat down Sirius looked at Raiden again.

"So, why have the Malfoys and Snape followed us Harry?" he asked.

Raiden looked at Sirius coolly and replied, "Professor Snape is my Head of House and the Malfoys have offered to become my guardians until I come of age."

Sirius stuttered for a minute before regaining control of himself. "Snape is a Slytherin Harry, how could he be your Head of House unless, no, no it's not possible," he muttered.

Raiden snorted. "Yes I'm a Slytherin, Black, get over it. With my dear relatives' care what else could I have become?"

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked suspiciously.

Raiden sighed. "Against my parents' wishes, I was placed with the Dursleys. They weren't too bad; I learnt to manipulate situations to suit myself early on. This past summer though, I lost control of my magic when Vernon's sister insulted my parents one time too many."

"What did you do?" Sirius asked.

He laughed as Raiden replied, "I blew her up like a balloon and she floated off down the road," before sobering again as Raiden continued, "Vernon and Dudley beat me so hard I lost consciousness. Salazar, my owl, flew to Malfoy Manor and Lucius came and rescued me from the muggles. I was in pretty bad shape."

Sirius growled. "Let me at them, I'll teach them to mess with you."

Raiden smirked. "They've already been dealt with. When I was healed, Lucius brought them to his dungeons and he and Severus taught me some curses that had some very interesting effects."

When the Dursleys' punishment was explained to Sirius, the former Marauder proved his heritage by smirking at them. "Good, it was what they deserved" he muttered. Looking at Raiden he sighed. "I can see why you want to stay with the Malfoys, you know them and you don't know me at all really. I would like the chance to get to know you however, I mean, Narcissa is my cousin after all."

Lucius and Narcissa exchanged a glance and then they looked at Raiden. "What do you think, Harry?" Lucius asked.

Raiden shrugged. "I'd like the chance to get to know my godfather. I do want you to be my guardians, but I don't want to cut Sirius out of my life completely. He is a link to my parents after all."

Lucius nodded and then fixed Sirius with a penetrating stare. "I'm certain that we can come to some sort of arrangement regarding visits and other things but know this, if you hurt him in any way you won't be seen ever again."

Sirius shuddered and nodded. He looked sideways at Snape and Raiden sighed loudly. "Sirius if you want to get to know me then you have to let go of the past. Professor Snape is not an enemy here and alienating him will alienate me as well."

Sirius and Snape stared at each other for a moment before Sirius grudgingly held out his hand. "For the sake of my godson I'll put aside our enmity, Snape. Just don't hurt him."

Snape shook Sirius' hand equally grudgingly and replied, "I won't. Harry is more than capable of taking care of himself."

With a tentative truce now declared, Lucius produced a set of papers and handed them to Raiden. Raiden read them quickly yet thoroughly, seeing that they were the guardianship papers that Lucius had promised. He absently conjured a quill from mid air without his wand, which drew an open mouthed stare from Sirius and then borrowed some ink. Two minutes later the papers were signed and they disappeared in a flash of light, being filed properly at the Ministry Child Services department in a sealed section.

With that done, Raiden found himself enveloped in a hug from Narcissa which threated to crack his ribs. When he started gasping for air Lucius intervened and pried his wife off of their new family member.

"Welcome to the family, Harry" he said with a smile. Raiden smiled back and then daringly hugged him. Lucius looked surprised but allowed it, even hugging him back briefly. Sirius looked somewhat jealous but realized that he needed to earn Raiden's trust and get to know him before he could start hugging him. He sat back and watched, seeing that Raiden really seemed to be happy with the situation. Shaking his head he almost missed the next question that Raiden asked him.

"What will you do now?"

Sirius shrugged. "Not sure. I was an Auror before I got arrested and the Director of the Magical Law Enforcement has promised that I can return to my old job, pending a refresher course but I'm not sure whether I'll take them up on that offer."

"Why not?" Raiden asked, barely noticing the other three adults leaving. They knew he'd be safe with Sirius and they thought that it was a good time for Raiden to get to know his godfather.

Sirius shrugged again. "I don't much fancy working in a Ministry headed by Cornelius Fudge. He's the type of politician that would only work in his best interests, not the interests of the wizarding world. Plus I need some relaxation time, time to get used to being a free man again. My wardrobe needs updating, I need a new wand, which reminds me, how the hell did you do wandless magic?"

Raiden chuckled. "I've been able to do it for a while. Dumbledore doesn't know so I'd appreciate it if you kept it a secret." Sirius nodded solemnly and swore that he'd keep it secret. The rest of the time before curfew was spent with Raiden telling Sirius about his childhood, excluding any mention of Voldemort and the first two years at Hogwarts. Sirius took the revelation that he was a Parseltongue in stride; he thought it was rather cool. He laughed at the Lockhart story and the Valentine, seemingly becoming more comfortable with the fact that Raiden was a Slytherin. Raiden had his doubts, he thought that Sirius might be suspending his outraged reaction for when Raiden wasn't around but he held his tongue on that suspicion. The news that the fraud had been fed to the Basilisk had Sirius wincing but agreed that Lockhart probably deserved it.

When curfew rolled round, Raiden excused himself and headed off to bed. He hesitated in the doorway, wondering if he should hug Sirius but then decided that he wanted to get more comfortable with him first. Saying goodnight instead he went back to Slytherin. His last thought that night was that now that the Sirius situation had been dealt with, it was time to tell his master the good news regarding Sirius, and also the news that they would go with the ritual that would make them family. He didn't quite know how the ritual worked but he knew that it would take less time than finding another way, plus he really wanted his master to be part of his family. He snorted at the amusing thought of Sirius' reaction if he were introduced to "Uncle Voldemort" before letting sleep claim him once again.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty: Summer Holidays**

"Wake up Harry!" Draco all but yelled as he entered his friend and adopted brother's room.

Raiden opened one eye and glared sleepily at him. "Why" he slurred, still not properly awake.

Draco shook his head and pulled the covers off Raiden before answering "World Cup remember? We're meeting Sirius there as well. You need to get up and get dressed now!"

Raiden rose from the bed and growled in annoyance. Were it not for the fact that Lucius had forbidden the two of them to curse each other Draco would have been in a lot of pain right then. "The match is not till this evening Draco so please tell me why I have to get up at such an ungodly hour of the morning?"

Rolling his eyes Draco replied, "Because although Sirius is meeting us at the match he's also coming over in half an hour so we can introduce him to your Master. You do remember that you felt he was ready to hear the truth about your affiliations?"

Raiden groaned. "Yes now I remember. Is breakfast finished?" he said, looking round for some clothes.

Draco shook his head and pushed Raiden towards the bathroom. "The house elves have prepared some for you, for some reason Father felt it better to let you sleep in today. Shower first though, you stink!"

"And I suppose you don't?" Raiden returned with a laugh before disappearing into the bathroom attached to both his bedroom and Draco's. Over the summer he'd finally grown used to having a family, and although he still reflexively backed away a bit whenever Lucius scolded him, which wasn't often, and still stiffened at times when Narcissa hugged him, which was a lot, he was growing used to the fact that reprimands were not a precursor of violence and hugs weren't designed to secretly hold him in place for any aforementioned violence. Lucius and Narcissa had also had to come to grips with what it meant to be effectively raising the Dark Lord's heir, as they had been told of the plan to resurrect Voldemort, and which ritual they were using.

The ritual, which Raiden had forgotten the name of, would leave Voldemort looking like an older version of Raiden, but with enough differences that they would not appear to be clones. This, accompanied with the sharing of blood, would make it easy to see the family resemblance between them, as it would be Raiden's blood flowing in Voldemort's veins.

Raiden snorted to himself as he began eating breakfast hastily. He had worked on Sirius since summer began first exchanging frequent owls with his godfather and gaining his trust and equally letting Sirius gain his trust as well. With the weekly visits as well, Raiden had let Sirius know quite a bit about him, but keeping the Voldemort issue a secret until now. He had noticed that Sirius' dissatisfaction with Dumbledore had grown quite a bit when Raiden had revealed that Dumbledore circumvented James and Lily Potter's will and deliberately placed him with the Dursleys, and moreover that he had known of the abuse and still tried to insist that Raiden be placed back there even after Lucius had revealed select details of his injuries to the Child Protection Services. There had been one hell of an uproar over that one, and Sirius had been restrained to prevent him from doing anything to Dumbledore that would warrant his re entry to Azkaban.

Raiden had also worked on changing his views on Voldemort. At first Sirius hadn't been able to get beyond the fact that the man had killed his best friends. Raiden didn't think that the arguments he'd used for himself would work with Sirius. Finally though, Sirius began to accept that the Dark Lord had been eliminating powerful threats to him, and that it was nothing personal. He had accepted that reluctantly, when Raiden had pointed out that James and Lily had eliminated many of his Death Eaters and followers, and it was only natural that Voldemort would retaliate. Raiden had also said that spending thirteen years as little better than a ghost was enough punishment for that offence and Sirius found himself agreeing with his godson.

Now, Raiden was waiting in the main lounge, nervous about the upcoming meeting. For all that Sirius was coming to accept that Raiden didn't hate the Dark Lord, it was quite another to tell him the full story. He didn't know how Sirius was going to take the news that his godson was the Dark Lord's apprentice, or their plans for the wizarding world. Finally the Floo flared to life and Sirius entered, brushing soot from his robe with ease.

Raiden scowled. "How is it that everyone but me can Floo easily, and I always end up flat on my face?" he said grumpily.

Sirius laughed. "Not sure pup, but I think that permanent cushioning charm in front of the fireplace was a good idea. Both here and at Grimmauld."

Raiden laughed and relaxed. "There is that" he agreed before tensing up again. Sirius noticed this and was curious. "What's wrong Harry? You're not afraid of me are you?"

Raiden smirked and gently punched his godfather's shoulder. He had got to the stage where he was interacting easily with the man and in a familial manner which had Sirius very happy. Sitting up straighter he said, "Not of you you mangy old mutt but of your reaction to some information I need to tell you."

Sirius frowned. "What information? Whatever it is pup we'll deal with it. It's not Daphne is it? You haven't gone and done anything, er, inappropriate?"

Raiden blushed furiously and said, "Merlin no! We haven't progressed beyond a couple of kisses and the occasional hug in public. Neither of us is ready to take our relationship to the next level, especially since we're not officially together."

Sirius' response was a raised eyebrow and a question. "Why not? It's not unheard of for fourteen year olds to be in relationships, or at least be starting them. Especially purebloods."

Raiden smirked. "Yes Sirius I know but both of us want to take things slowly. We're not mutually exclusive yet but everyone seems to be thinking that we are."

Lucius entered the room at that point and sat down on the sofa. "Hello Sirius" he said.

Sirius nodded and replied "Hello Lucius." Both men had become friendlier over the summer as Sirius proved he really did have Raiden's best interests at heart, and Lucius had fully approved of, and helped with, Sirius' estrangement from Dumbledore and his way of thinking. The result was that Sirius was fast approaching Severus' position regarding the Malfoy family, that of trusted family friend.

"Why are you here Lucius?" Raiden asked. He had tried once, to call Lucius Father but it was awkward, and felt like a betrayal of James Potter. Lucius had noticed the awkwardness and had told Raiden that he could use his name and not to worry about familial titles.

Lucius shrugged. "I came to see how the conversation was going and to offer some support should you need it."

"Support for what?" Sirius asked, getting more and more suspicious.

Raiden sighed. "Sirius, I've not been entirely honest with you. You know those conversations we've had about Voldemort?" Sirius nodded, wondering why Raiden was bringing them up. Raiden looked uncomfortable when he continued with, "What would you think if I told you that his views on the wizarding world had changed?"

Sirius looked thoughtful. "I would wonder how you came by this information and I would wonder exactly how his views had changed. Why?"

Raiden shrugged. "His views used to be the extermination of muggles and muggleborns. Now they've changed to having a sort of test to determine the magical strength of muggleborns before they enter the wizarding world. If they are above a certain level then they can enter and a spell of some sort would be placed upon them and their immediate families, preventing them from telling anyone about magic, except for talking about it amongst themselves."

"And those deemed not strong enough?" Sirius questioned, a suspicion forming in his mind about the reason for the questions. Raiden shrugged once more and replied, "Magical ability suppressed, essentially turning them into squibs and all memory of accidental magic erased from their minds, as well as their family's."

Sirius nodded. "Sounds different to what he used to do. Why the change of heart so to speak?" Raiden looked uncomfortable. "Remember that mentor I told you about. The one who began training me in magic at age 8?" Upon Sirius' nod he said, "That mentor was the spirit form of Voldemort. He managed to protect me from my relatives by teaching me the basics of controlling my powers and by teaching me the manipulative skill required for me to survive. I've been doing wandless magic for several years now although I still use a wand as well. He's taught me for the past six years and he genuinely cares about me.

Sirius was in shock at learning that Raiden was Voldemort's apprentice. Finally he blinked and replied slowly, "Right. So you're the apprentice of the Dark Lord. May I assume that he changed his mind because of you?" Raiden nodded, still wary of being rejected.

Sirius shook his head. "This will take some getting used to. Can I at least meet him in spirit form – I do need to ask him a few things?"

Raiden thought for a moment, mentally conversing with Voldemort at the same time before saying, "He'll be along in a few moments. Do you have any questions for me before he does?"

Sirius nodded. "If he's your mentor I suppose he can discipline you if you step out of line?" Raiden nodded, wondering why Sirius chose this topic to start with. It was made clear a few seconds later when Sirius asked, "He can't hold a wand so how does manage it?"

Raiden flushed and then tapped his scar. "The scar caused a mental link between us and although it isn't usually painful, he can activate part of the link which causes pain. He only does it for serious offences though, mostly he just tells me off. He has promised to Crucio me when he gets his body back if I step out of line."

Sirius nodded. "Painful method but whatever works" he muttered. Seeing Raiden's look of disbelief he held up his hands. "Hey I'm not advocating using Unforgivables on you, you're my godson after all, but I do think that if you overstep the boundaries in a big way, then the punishment should be memorable and the Cruciatus curse is certainly that."

Raiden looked at him for a few seconds before nodding. "I don't ever expect to actually be under it, I certainly will be doing everything possible to avoid it. However, if you wish to ask him yourself please do so. He's right behind you."

Sirius spun in his seat to face Voldemort, and then slowly turned back round as Voldemort floated back round to the empty space near the furniture. What followed was a question and answer session which answered all of Sirius' questions and also eased his fears. By the end of it Sirius had only one more question left.

"If I want to be on your side but not a full Death Eater do you have any objections?"

Voldemort looked at Raiden and then replied, "My apprentice here suggested forming a sub-group of his friends and family that wished to be on our side but not necessarily a Death Eater. You I believe were mentioned as one of his advisors in this group if you agreed to switch sides."

Sirius snorted. "You know my family heritage sir, I'd expect that my mother would be quite pleased that her wayward son had finally "seen the Light" as it were and taken his proper place in the Dark."

Voldemort nodded. "Yes, I was rather disappointed when you didn't join me last time. Do not betray us Sirius; it would be a pity to have to kill you."

Sirius looked at him evenly and then replied, "My loyalty is to Harry, and whatever side he's on, I'm on. I refuse to fight him." Voldemort nodded and turned to Raiden.

"This will be the last time I will be in this form. I begin the process of gaining a temporary body tomorrow night and then we wait till the end of the year for the ritual to restore me to a proper body. You remember what the ritual does?"

Raiden nodded. "Yes Master. It will essentially give you a body which resembles an older version of me but with enough differences that we won't be clones. Not that it would be difficult, your sixteen year old memory self seemed somewhat similar in appearance to myself." Looking embarrassed he added, "What was its name again Master?"

Voldemort looked vaguely amused and replied, "It is called the _Cognatus Familia_ Raiden and essentially it means family related by blood. This is why I need your blood for the ritual, it will only take a few drops, don't worry. Once the ritual is over we will be bound as blood relatives and you will be the next Heir of Slytherin."

"Next Heir? I thought the youngest was the Heir?" Raiden asked, confused.

Voldemort smirked. "Slytherin's line held that the oldest male descendant was the Heir. All the other Founders had the oldest male child of the previous heir as the heir. Salazar was a bit different."

Raiden nodded. "Interesting."

Voldemort nodded. "True. One last piece of advice before I leave. Don't fight anything that happens this year. It will have a purpose."

With that he disappeared but not before sending a mental message down their link, consisting of the message that all their communication now would be mental until the end of the year when he would start using their diaries to communicate. Raiden started, he had almost forgotten the diaries, one of which had been the one that contained a piece of Voldemort's soul and the other which had been a duplicate of it once the soul piece was removed by Voldemort himself. Now they were simple communication devices, designed to go through any wards since they weren't malignant in any way.

Shaking his head, Raiden turned to Sirius who was looking rather gobsmacked. "Er, Sirius, you OK?"

Sirius shook his head to clear it and replied "Yeah. I think I made the right choice just now, joining the Dark Side and all. Or rather, joining your side. Next Heir of Slytherin, bloody hell you're going to be powerful when you come into your inheritance."

"Why?" Raiden questioned.

Sirius smiled slightly. "Not many knew it but the Potters were one of the surviving family lines that relate back to Gryffindor. I did my research back when I was in school and from what I can tell, you're the last surviving male of Gryffindor descent. All the other lines were wiped out in the war or died out naturally over the past few centuries, or inbred themselves out of existence."

Raiden banged his head on the conveniently placed table and muttered, "Why me" before looking up at his guardian and adoptive father even though he couldn't bring himself to call Lucius that yet.

"Do you know what Voldemort was talking about when he mentioned an interesting school year?" he asked.

Lucius nodded. "I do, Harry but Draco should be here too. Hold on."

Draco soon came into the room, greeted Sirius casually, and flopped down onto the couch, ignoring his father's glare at the lack of proper decorum. Shaking his head and reminding himself that they were with family and that Draco knew how to act in public, Lucius said, "The school year is going to be interesting this year because the Triwizard Tournament is being held at Hogwarts." Seeing the blank looks on the faces of the two boys he sighed before explaining what the Tournament was.

"Wow, so Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students are coming to Hogwarts to compete in this insanely dangerous Tournament that any student can enter?" Draco said. Raiden shook his head. "I wouldn't think that anyone could enter Dray. They'll probably restrict it to students that are seventeen years old, in the interests of making it as safe as possible."

Lucius nodded. "That is precisely what they're doing, Harry. I have no idea what this year is going to be like but do keep your schoolwork up to its usual impeccable standard won't you."

Both Draco and Raiden nodded, having completed their homework the week before. Sirius snickered and then said, "Well well, and here I thought Slytherins didn't do homework." Both Draco and Raiden glared at him before a sudden thought struck Raiden.

"Hey Sirius, you told me about the Marauders. My friends and I have our own group, not really into pranking but it would be cool to be animagi. Would you consent to teach us?"

Sirius, who had registered his form with the Ministry as soon as possible, was able to teach them and agreed to do so if the other members of the Quartet were agreeable. That included their parents. He found it amusing that Draco and after a moment's hesitation, Raiden as well, turned to Lucius with wide eyes. Lucius for his part merely looked like he was considering it, before slowly standing up. The next instant, a large boa constrictor was on the floor in front of them. It stayed that way for a few moments, exchanging a series of hisses with Raiden before transforming back into Lucius.

Raised eyebrows from his audience caused him to look faintly embarrassed if you knew what to look for. "Yes it's unregistered. Nice form though."

"Yes it is. I wonder what we'll be" Draco muttered.

Lucius and Sirius exchanged glances before Lucius pulled his wand out of his cane. "I can do a spell that would show us what your potential forms are if you'd like to know?"

Draco and Raiden didn't have to think before they answered, "YES" at loud volume. Lucius and Sirius shrugged before each casting the spell, Lucius cast it on Draco and Sirius cast it on Harry.

The two boys changed form immediately, Draco to a pure white ferret, and Raiden to a large black king cobra. A few minutes later they changed back and looked at each other.

"What were we?" Raiden asked.

Lucius and Sirius smiled. "Draco was a ferret and Harry a king cobra."

"OK now what?" Raiden asked.

He didn't like the smile on Sirius' face when the man replied, "Now you get to research the anatomy of your animal, you can't change into it if you don't know how to change your internal organs to match those of your form. You also need to study some things what they eat, habits and other things that you'll need to know in order to control your form when you first change into it."

Both boys groaned at the thought of more research but they were motivated by the possibility of being animagi. Turning to Draco, Raiden smirked and said, "Now we just need to convince the others."

Later that afternoon, the small group headed for the Quidditch World Cup. They would stay for the match and leave afterwards but the boys had begged to be allowed to see some of the stuff that went on beforehand. Against his better judgement, Lucius had given in and so they were wandering round the campsite seeing the sights as it were.

They ran into their other Quartet members as well as Hermione during this time and all three agreed to animagus lessons. Hermione had lightened up quite a bit from the rule bound first year she had been and any new branch of magic was intriguing to her. Blaise and Daphne simply liked the thought of breaking the rules in that manner. Daphne and Hermione gave each other a cool stare when both tried to take Raiden's arm at once and Raiden sighed before pulling Daphne to him and giving her a kiss. He didn't mind beginning a relationship but he didn't want his two best female friends fighting over him and he didn't care for the practice of having a wife and then a mistress on the side, even if Lucius and Sirius had assured him that it was still a common enough practice that it wouldn't' be frowned upon and Hermione would not be looked down on either as mistresses were considered part of the family if the wife knew and approved. It was a sort of legal way of having polygamous marriages as it were, even if it was not truly that. At best it was a way of two women sharing the same man, if he was attracted to both but loved only one.

Daphne melted at the kiss and Raiden wrapped one arm round her and then held out his other arm to Hermione. "I can't be in a relationship with you yet Hermione, and possibly not ever as Daphne and I are still finding out where this relationship of ours is going. However, I don't like being fought over when it's clear I'm taken."

Fixing both Hermione and Daphne with a look he said, "I love Daphne in a romantic sense and Hermione in a best friend sense. I have no problem with having both of you beside me but no fighting over me alright? I won't have it."

Both Daphne and Hermione looked vaguely ashamed of themselves. Daphne let go of Raiden and turned to Hermione, holding out her hand. "Sorry Hermione. I just, this relationship is so new still that I'm scared of losing him to another girl, and I'm also naturally a bit possessive as well. I didn't mean to scare you or anything."

Hermione smiled and took the offered hand. "No problem Daphne. I wasn't trying to take him off you, I know he's taken, I just wanted to walk with him as a friend."

Both looked at Raiden who looked pleased. "Thank you both of you. As good as it might be for my ego to have two gorgeous young women falling for me, I am a one woman person only."

As they walked back to where the parents of the Quartet had assembled, Daphne leaned up to whisper in Raiden's ear, "What would you have done if I'd continued fighting Hermione over you?"

Raiden thought for a moment before allowing a wicked grin to come over his face. Leaning down slightly he murmured, "You don't want to know, but it would have left no doubt that you're mine and I'm yours." Leaving Daphne with a surprised blush on her face he joined Sirius and began talking Quidditch, discussing the merits of the Irish and Bulgarian teams and who had the best chance of winning.

The match itself turned out like Raiden had predicted, Ireland won but the Bulgarian Seeker Viktor Krum had got the Snitch. The party that night was loud and long but the Quartet plus Hermione was at home in Malfoy Manor, the students were having a sleepover with their parents' permission. This gave them the chance to discuss animagi lessons and Lucius obligingly cast the charm to show the forms. Blaise was a large Alsatian dog, Daphne was a python, and Hermione was an owl. The five students fell asleep vowing to become Animagi as soon as possible and dreaming up names for their forms.

The next morning, the Daily Prophet carried a headline, "TERROR AT THE WORLD CUP!" It had a picture of a gleaming Dark Mark floating in the sky and everyone at the breakfast table shared a look. It would seem that Voldemort was announcing his planned return a little earlier than planned. Raiden was impressed with the spellwork that must have gone into creating it. Hermione shivered slightly and Raiden looked round at the group, silently asking if it was time to reveal the truth to Hermione as well. The rest shrugged, indicating that it was up to him. Catching her attention, Raiden asked, "Hermione, would you mind coming up to my room after breakfast? I need to tell you something that the rest already know. All I ask of you when I tell you is that you not interrupt until I'm finished, and that you keep an open mind. Alright?" With a shaky nod, Hermione agreed and after breakfast she and Raiden disappeared upstairs, leaving the rest to worry in silence.

A hour or so later they emerged, both pale but happy. Hermione was in shock over learning that her best friend was the apprentice of the most feared wizard in Britain, but she had been encouraged when Raiden had told her that she would most definitely pass the tests that he and Voldemort planned to introduce once the revolution was over. She had promised to work to overcome her hero worship of Dumbledore as an authority figure, having had her views on the man quite thoroughly shredded over the hour with Raiden's listing of the man's faults and what he'd tried to do to Raiden. Raiden had had her sign the parchment before he told her anything so his secret was in fact safe.

When they got back to the sitting room Draco asked idly, "Should it become the Slytherin Quintet now?" Raiden shook his head. "No. I think we should come up with a name for ourselves that doesn't really have House affiliations. The Slytherin Quartet was cool but now that we've added Hermione as a full member as it were, it doesn't work. So, name suggestions anyone? We won't be having the Marauders either."

None of them could think of any names off the top of their heads though and they all promised to think about it over the next school year. A few days later they were all in a compartment on the Hogwarts Express discussing what might happen with the Triwizard Tournament and all the fun the coming school year was going to hold. For Raiden, the year was going to be both fun and insufferably long as at the end of it he was finally going to get to see Voldemort in the flesh again and he couldn't wait until it happened. There was a chuckle in his mind and Voldemort quoted a line from the Star Wars movie saga at him, that being, _Patience, young Jedi._

Rolling his eyes, Raiden sent back, _that's young Sith to you Master_. There was another chuckle before Voldemort closed the link. Raiden settled back into the seat on the train, his mind filled with the endless possibilities his fourth year might bring. Smiling, he closed his eyes, and fell asleep. His friends left him alone, knowing he needed to sleep and instead chattered on about the upcoming year, and the excitement that would accompany the Triwizard Tournament.

**Author Note**

**Hi everyone. Yes, I've finally got back round to posting more of this story again. Real life kind of took over the last couple of months, I've finally landed myself a permanent full time job again but it requires moving to a new city, and then I was told last week that the job's starting a month earlier than originally planned so my moving schedule had to be speeded up even more than it already was. The good news is that I'm moving up to the new city this coming Sunday, the 27th of June, and once I'm settled, and the internet connection's been re-established, you should hopefully start seeing more regular posts from me, both of this story and of Erasing History. For those who thought Orion's reaction to the Marauder's spying on him in the last chapter was a bit lenient, well, it was a mistake on their part, and one they won't repeat. He knew that, and therefore didn't react as badly as he might otherwise have done. I am planning a big event around the Marauder's fifth and sixth years, ones which will firmly establish that Orion doesn't take betrayal well at all, even and most especially from family but that's all I'm saying at the moment.**

**Hope you enjoy this chapter and there will be more coming just as soon as I get myself moved and settled.**

**Padawan Lynne**


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter Twenty One: Foreign Arrivals, Unforgivables and Champions**

It was now a few months into the school year and the whole school was abuzz over the arrival of the delegates from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. Slytherin House especially had a high sense of anticipation as Durmstrang was a school that traditionally specialized in not only teaching Defence against the Dark Arts but also taught the Dark Arts themselves. They didn't know much about Beauxbatons other than that it was in France but they didn't really mind that.

The school was lined up on the front steps and waiting semi-patiently for the first arrivals. Beauxbatons was first and they gasped at the enormous carriage and flying horses that pulled it. When it landed and the door opened, the reason for the size was made apparent as the largest woman Raiden had ever seen stepped out of it, followed by several young women who looked around 17 years old. They walked up to Dumbledore and the Headmistress, who was introduced as Madam Maxime talked with the staff for a moment before waiting for the arrival of Durmstrang.

Durmstrang chose to arrive in a slightly more unusual way; they had a ship which rose from the depths of the Black Lake like a ghost. The students that got off were again around 17 but one student caught Raiden and Draco's attention in particular. Following the Headmaster, Igor Karkaroff, up the steps, was the Bulgarian Seeker Viktor Krum. Whispers spread around the Hogwarts students as he walked inside, followed by the rest of the guests.

The announcement of the Triwizard Tournament rules had many 6th years shouting in anger but they were quieted swiftly by Dumbledore. The Goblet of Fire was left in the Great Hall with instructions that any eligible candidate, that is those students 17 or over could put their name in if they were prepared to play. The tasks would be dangerous, which was why the age limit had been imposed in the first place. In order to keep out younger students Dumbledore had drawn an Age Line round the Goblet. The Slytherins knew better than to test it, although they had laughed themselves sick at the silly students in the other houses that had tried aging potions to make themselves look the proper age. The results were amusing; the students had grown lovely long white beards and hair similar to Dumbledore's.

The former Slytherin Quartet plus Hermione had gathered in their study corner to discuss their animagus studies, plus a new name for themselves. Blaise had suggested the Avengers, while Daphne had suggested The Mischievous Devils or TMD for short. With no other names they had debated on those two. TMD seemed a bit odd unless they were planning on going into the pranking business, which they weren't. They were more into study and spying rather than pranks. The Avengers seemed better, especially with what they were ultimately planning. With the name of their group decided, they turned to their personal animagus names. It had been decided that their group would form the core of the sub group within the Death Eaters, with Raiden of course as their leader. Sirius would be the adult advisor of that group and any new members had to agree to become Animagi. The idea was that Raiden's group would be the spies and information gatherers of Voldemort's organization and as such they would have to swear loyalty to the Dark, but not get the Dark Mark. Instead they would get a Mark of Raiden's choosing, once they were old enough, ie 17. Not even Raiden would be Marked until his seventeenth birthday, so they had three years to think of an appropriate symbol and start feeling out potential followers.

A few days later the fourth year Slytherins and Gryffindors were waiting for their first DADA lesson. The teacher was a retired Auror named Alastor Moody, or at least that was what he appeared to be. Raiden knew better as Voldemort had informed him that the real Moody had been kidnapped and Barty Crouch Junior had taken his place using Polyjuice potion. Crouch had not been informed of the relationship between Raiden and Voldemort, he thought of Raiden as just being Harry Potter.

Moody entered the room and stood at the front. "Settle down you lot. Today's lesson will be on the Unforgivable Curses. Which one of you can tell me how many there are?"

Raiden raised his hand. "Three sir, the Imperius, the Cruciatus and the Killing Curse."

Moody nodded his head. "Good Potter, good. Do you know what they do?"

Raiden did know but he had to play ignorant. "Not really sir." Moody shrugged. Looking at the rest of the class he said, "Using any one of the three Unforgivable curses is enough to earn you a life sentence in Azkaban. The Ministry of Magic doesn't want you to know what the curses do. They think you're all too young. I say different!"

The class looked at each other as Moody continued, "You need to know what you're facing. Since I can't demonstrate on you lot, I'll show you with spiders."

So saying, he reached into a jar and pulled out a spider. A whispered enlarging spell had the spider growing in size so the class could easily see it. Moody put it down on the desk and pointed his wand at it.

"Imperio!" he hissed. The spider twitched as the spell hit and then relaxed. Suddenly it got up and began tap dancing on the desk and then wandered around the class. Most of the Gryffindors were snickering, but the Slytherins were silent and watchful. Moody seemed displeased at the Gryffindors' reaction.

"You'd think it funny if it happened to you?" he growled menacingly before continuing, "After the end of the war many witches and wizards claimed they'd only done You Know Who's bidding under the influence of this curse. It gives the caster complete control of the victim."

Moody looked round and saw that the class was fully attentive and hanging on his every word. Raiden in particular was highly interested. Moody then pointed his wand at the spider and hissed "Crucio!"

The spider curled in on itself the nearly inaudible squeaks of pain it made would have translated to screams if it had been a human. Raiden watched the spider with morbid fascination although he was disturbed as well. For all that Voldemort had threatened him with the Cruciatus, and with all that he'd read of it, reading of the pain it inflicted and seeing it first hand was different. Shuddering inwardly, Raiden once again vowed to try and avoid getting hit with that curse as much as possible.

Finally the curse stopped and the spider relaxed although fine trembles indicated that it was still in a lot of pain. Moody looked round at the utterly silent class and said, "The torture curse. You don't need whips or other things if you can cast this curse. But there's one more."

Looking at the spider, Moody pointed his wand at the creature for the last time. "Avada Kedavra!" he snarled. The spider slumped to the desk top, dead. The class stared at the rush of green light and the dead spider before they swiveled as one to look with fascination at Raiden as Moody said calmly, "The killing curse. No known way of blocking it. There's only one known person to have survived it and he's sitting in this room."

Raiden looked coolly at the class, daring them to comment. None did. Raiden listened as Moody said, "The Unforgivables take a fair amount of power to cast, you could all point your wands at me and say Avada Kedavra and I doubt I'd get even a nosebleed. The point of this class isn't to teach you how to cast them though. It's to give you the necessary information so you can defend against them. Since they can't be blocked the best defence is to dodge or flat out run away."

Raiden left the class and headed for lunch, remaining silent and not talking. The rest of the Avengers as they were now calling themselves left him alone, knowing that the demonstration of the curses, and seeing the one that had killed his parents but not him would have left him shaken. Raiden sat through lunch looking pale but otherwise composed. He felt eyes on him halfway through the meal and looked up to see Snape's eyes on him. The look in them was one of concern. Snape had heard of the lesson and was furious, there was no reason for fourth years to be exposed to the Unforgivables, especially since in that class there had been two that would be more affected than the others, Raiden due to the failed killing curse as an infant, and Neville Longbottom who had had his parents tortured into insanity by the cruciatus.

A few days later it was time for the champion selection. The school packed into the great hall with the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students as well. The Goblet of Fire was flaming quietly with blue fire as Dumbledore explained more about the Tournament. Then the Goblet flared red and a piece of parchment flew out of it.

Dumbledore caught it in his hand and looked at it. All hopeful participants had put their name and school on a bit of parchment and then submitted it to the Goblet over the past week. The Hogwarts Headmaster looked up and said, "The champion for Durmstrang is Viktor Krum!"

A loud burst of cheering rang out around the hall as the world champion Seeker walked up towards the head table and passed through the door at the end. A few minutes later the Goblet flared red again and another parchment shot out of it.

"The champion for Beauxbatons is Fleur Delacour!" More cheering rang out as the girl that the Avengers were sure was at least part Veela went through the same door that Viktor had gone through. The boys at Hogwarts had been drooling over her with the exception of a few. It was interesting to note that all of the exceptions had girlfriends, or, in Raiden's case, a significant interest in a girl.

Now the Hogwarts students were holding their breath. The Goblet flared for the last time and Dumbledore announced, "The Hogwarts champion is Cedric Diggory!" The Hogwarts students cheered and clapped. When the noise settled down, Dumbledore clapped his hands and said, "We now have our three champions! Please give them your support over the coming year. Good luck to all of them."

He was just sitting down when the Goblet sputtered and smoked before the flame belched red again and another parchment came flying out of it. Raiden's eyes widened, he now had a suspicion as to what Voldemort had meant by "don't fight anything that happens this year" and he didn't like it. Dumbledore caught the parchment and read it.

Looking up and across the hall, his eyes met Raiden's just before Dumbledore said, "Harry Potter."

Raiden sat stunned before Draco pushed him up and towards Dumbledore. He walked slowly up the hall, feeling the weight of hundreds of eyes on him. There was no cheering, only a muttering of suspicion and then a random Gryffindor yelled out "Trust a Slytherin to cheat his way in! He's not even of age yet!"

Raiden glared at them and then met Dumbledore's gaze. He hadn't entered his name; he wasn't knowledgeable enough to get round the age restrictions. He knew who had though, Crouch, while posing as Moody must have somehow hoodwinked the cup. He looked defiantly at the rest of the staff members, most of whom looked shocked.

Dumbledore looked at Raiden and then silently held out the parchment. Raiden frowned, it was definitely his handwriting but he hadn't put it in. Walking swiftly he walked towards the same door that the other three had disappeared through. The last person he saw as he closed the door was Professor Snape, who was looking at him with an inscrutable look in his black eyes.

The aftermath had not been pretty. Snape had tried to get Raiden withdrawn from the Tournament, and Moody had told them that he couldn't have hoodwinked the Goblet as a fourth year's magical talent wouldn't have been strong enough. It ended with the Ministry representatives telling Raiden that his name coming out of the Goblet constituted a magically binding contract. He had to compete. Raiden went to bed that night with Barty Crouch Senior's words ringing in his ears.

"As of tonight, Mr Potter is a Triwizard champion."

**Author Note**

I'd like to thank **Voldemort is Dead** for suggesting the name Avengers for the former Slytherin Quartet. Animagus names will be coming soon.

May the Force be with you

Padawan Lynne


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter Twenty Two: The First Task and Announcements**

Raiden was in a foul mood. Hogwarts, with the exception of the Slytherins, hated him. Oh not the teachers, they were too professional to let a little thing like his completely unwanted championship competitor status cloud their judgement. No it was the students. Hufflepuff he could understand, they thought he'd stolen the glory from Cedric, which in a way he had. Gryffindor had always despised him so no surprises there. It was the Ravenclaws, with their traditionally neutral history which shocked him, they had taken to being quite nasty to him and Raiden was about ready to use the Chamber of Secrets as a dormitory for the Avengers, as Hermione was the only Ravenclaw that supported him and as such was rapidly being tarred with the same brush as he was.

He had managed to talk to his master and Voldemort had told him that yes this was part of the plan. He had to compete, and win, in order for the operation to go smoothly. Apparently Professor Moody, who was Crouch in disguise, would help him in indirect ways if he needed it. After hearing that though, Raiden vowed to get through with as little help as possible; he wanted to prove that he could handle it on his own.

The Avengers now sat at the Slytherin table at every meal mostly with Hermione joining them for her own protection. This made Flitwick, the Ravenclaw Head of House rather annoyed, not about Hermione's change of seats itself but the underlying reason for it. He felt that the unfortunate accident was just that, and didn't hold Raiden responsible. The rest of the staff generally followed his line of thinking on the matter; excepting Snape who was fully in support of Raiden and was enjoying winding Sprout up about it. She retaliated by asking how he was going to feel if he ended up attending Raiden's funeral.

The champions hadn't been told what the first task was, but Raiden had the odd feeling that the other three knew what it was anyway and no one had told him. He shrugged, if they wanted to be the true cheats then that was their problem. In the meantime, he had homework to attend to before the first task the next day.

The next morning dawned bright and clear and the four champions gathered in the tent set aside for them at the side of the stadium type construction that the first task would be held in. Raiden still didn't know what the task was but the other three were giving him half superior, half pitying looks to which Raiden merely sneered in reply. Cedric looked uncomfortable, as if he'd wanted to tell Raiden but been forbidden to. Even Crouch hadn't told him, although that was because he hadn't had a chance to do it clandestinely, as the teachers weren't supposed to help at all.

Finally the tent flap opened and Crouch senior, followed by Karkaroff, Madame Maxime and Dumbledore came in. Crouch was holding a small purple bag which was making hissing noises and smoking. The four champions gathered round the bag and each drew out a miniature model dragon with a number round its neck. Raiden had a Hungarian Horntail with the number four. Cedric was first with a Swedish Short-Snout, Fleur second with a Welsh Green and Krum third with a Chinese Fireball.

He saw with a sick kind of feeling that the other three had definitely known and now he had little time with which to come up with a plan. He had to grab a golden egg from the dragon, and he didn't know any spells to subdue one.

'Oh you idiot!' he thought as his mind abruptly flashed back to his latest charms class, which had covered the Summoning charm. He was the best Seeker in the school, maybe not as good as Krum but still good enough. He could summon the broom, then draw the dragon up from the egg long enough to dive and get it out safely. With that plan settled he smirked as he imagined the dragon going up against a Firebolt. Sirius had surprised him with the broom as a fourteenth birthday gift during the summer and Draco had also received one for his birthday. The two had had great fun racing each other on them but now Raiden was about to face something a lot more dangerous.

With the other three having faced their dragons and won, Raiden was now the last one left. He walked down the short tunnel and into the stadium. Looking round he saw all the Slytherins gathered in one section and among them was Hermione. The Avengers were all holding a large sign of support for him and he smiled, before scanning the teachers' box. Among the staff he saw Lucius and Sirius, both of whom were furious that he'd been unlawfully entered by someone else but not able to do much except support him and hope he didn't get killed. Neither of them knew of the overall plan.

Raiden took a breath and shook his head, clearing it of extraneous thought and calming himself. He looked round for his opponent, scanning the area carefully, using both sight and sound. He could see the golden egg but doubted that it was unguarded.

Gathering himself he leapt sideways behind a large rock, just as a large spiked tail slammed into the spot where he'd been just seconds before. He heard a frustrated roar and peeked out of his hiding place to see the largest dragon he'd ever seen. He pulled back quickly as the dragon breathed fire at him, and threatened to melt his cover.

Growling inwardly, Raiden leapt upwards and behind another rock, avoiding the large tail by milliseconds this time. He wasn't so lucky the third time as he was caught and sent flying across the arena. He could hear the gasps from the crowd and see the worry on Sirius' face and the concern on Lucius' and Snape's faces as well. Snarling, he pulled himself upright and concentrated. Pouring all his will into the spell he yelled, "ACCIO FIREBOLT!"

He spent another few minutes dodging the dragon before he spotted his broom flying towards him. Smiling, he waited till the last second and then leapt onto it, flying away from the blast of fire his scaly opponent sent at him.

The crowd roared in delight as he took to the sky. The Slytherins were roaring in appreciation as Raiden swerved round the dragon, teasing it, trying to get it to fly upwards. It did, and managed to break the chain holding it down. Raiden's eyes widened, this wasn't supposed to happen. The dragon chased him out of the arena, and Raiden now flew for his life, pulling all the tricks he knew to stay in the air and ahead of the massive beast. He didn't intend to head towards Hogwarts but thought that he might as well take advantage of the many small corridors and other things that he could use to lose his pursuer. Flying round the school, circling the towers, and going round and through walkways and other areas, Raiden tried to shake off the dragon.

It almost worked; he was heading towards the stadium again when he flew through one of the gaps in the bridge. At the last second the dragon chomped on the end of his broom, and Raiden hit his head on the stone before falling down the other side. It was a blessing that the dragon collided with the bridge and fell with him.

Raiden was half stunned but he managed to stay on his broom and control it enough that he made a painful crash landing on a conveniently placed ledge rather than falling on his head. The dragon wasn't so lucky and fell past him, splitting its head open on a sharp piece of the cliff. Groaning, Raiden pulled himself up and assessed the damage. He was bruised and sore, no surprises there but no broken bones, or any injuries that would be detrimental to the flight back to the stadium. His broom on the other hand…

Raiden held his broom and looked at it. 'Sirius is going to kill me' he thought. The Firebolt was still flight-worthy, but it would need a lot of repairs to render it the same super fast broom it had been. Looking at the bristle end Raiden snorted, the name Firebolt now seemed very apt. It was smoking slightly thanks to the dragon's attempt to fry him in mid air. Wincing, he threw one leg over the broom and kicked off from the small ledge he was on, feeling the vibrations in the broom and praying once more that it held together.

Back in the stadium, the students and staff were searching the skies for any hint of Raiden or the dragon. Lucius and Sirius, backed up heatedly by Severus and Minerva, were soundly berating the Ministry for allowing the chain to be breakable. There were charms that would render a chain unbreakable even by a dragon, and these charms had failed to be put on.

"Why the hell not!" Sirius snarled. Fudge leaned backwards, away from the furious wizards and one witch facing him. He twisted his hat in his hands and said nervously, "Well, the expense was too great, I must say this wasn't expected at all, terribly sorry and everything…"

Sirius closed his eyes, attempting to keep from killing the pathetic wizard in front of him. He felt the desire for revenge burn hotly inside and ruthlessly controlled it, opening his eyes to see Lucius lean forward, his soft silky voice sounding extremely menacing. When Snape added his own censure to the mix, Fudge nearly wet himself.

"You mean to tell me Minister, that a fourteen year old boy, my adopted son in fact, is currently fighting for his life somewhere out there, simply because you wanted to save some Galleons instead of making the task as safe as possible?" Lucius hissed. Fudge sort of nodded and whimpered slightly.

Snape leaned forward and drawled, "If he is seriously hurt or, Merlin forbid, killed, you might very well end up in Azkaban Fudge. You do remember that he is Harry Potter don't you?"

Fudge was about to reply when a shriek from the student section of the stands drew their attention. Hermione and Daphne were jumping up and down screaming, "YES, YES, GO HARRY!!" at the top of their lungs. The rest of the students followed their gaze and started screaming as well.

Sirius, Lucius and Severus turned to look, along with the other staff and their hearts settled to more normal rhythms as Raiden flew down towards the egg, his broom smoking badly but carrying him all the way to the flat topped, large rock where the egg was sitting. Landing next to the egg, Raiden quietly toppled off the broom and lay down, his hand resting possessively on his egg and the clue inside.

That night, the Slytherins partied long into the early hours of the morning. It was a good thing the next day was a weekend as they would have been useless in classes. Raiden was sitting with the Avengers, as Hermione had been granted permission by Snape to visit whenever she wanted as long as she didn't give out the password, and just relaxing. Lucius and Sirius had both praised him for his flying skills and had told him that it wasn't his fault the broom got fried and it was fixable so not to worry. With that off his mind, Raiden could think about the reward that Daphne had given him after he'd been patched up by Madam Pomfrey, a long kiss that didn't end until Severus gently but firmly pinched their nostrils shut with a bit of magic. This seemed to cement Daphne's claim on him until he said otherwise so all the other girls were making sure that if they talked to him, it was innocent talk and any flirting behaviors were firmly curbed.

A notice had appeared on the common room notice board when the exhausted Slytherins woke up later on the day following the first task. Raiden read it over top of the younger students and groaned.

YULE BALL WILL BE HELD ON CHRISTMAS EVE NIGHT. DRESS ROBES REQUIRED AND ALL PARTNERS WILL BE FOURTH YEARS AND UP. A FEAST WILL BE PROVIDED IN THE HOUSE COMMON ROOMS FOR ALL YOUNGER STUDENTS.

Raiden now needed two things. First was a partner. That was easy; he just needed to ask Daphne. They could use the Ball as a sort of tentative first boyfriend/girlfriend outing type thing. Second was more pressing and needed Narcissa's help. His reading on the Tournaments of past years told him that the Champions were expected to open the dancing and he refused to embarrass either Daphne or himself. Or Hogwarts he added grudgingly.

Raiden immediately went to his room and grabbed a bit of parchment, his ink pot and a quill. Hastily sharpening the quill he dipped it in the ink and wrote,

_Dear Narcissa_

_The Yule Ball is being held on Christmas Eve. I have my dress robes and hopefully Daphne will say yes when I ask her. I need your help with something very important though. I need to learn how to dance properly as I've never been taught and I refuse to make a fool of either Daphne or myself. The Champions have to open the dancing and I'd like to at least look like I know what I'm doing._

_Love _

_Harry_

Raiden looked at the note and sighed. He'd got comfortable with signing his letters to Lucius and Narcissa, and Sirius that way but it was still a bit strange. Shaking his head he headed off to the Owlery, where Salazar nipped his ear affectionately and took the note, flying off into the sky. He hoped that Narcissa could arrange something or else he was going to look a right idiot come the night of the Ball. Walking back to the Slytherin common room he started planning how to ask Daphne to the ball.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter Twenty Three: Figuring out the Clue and the Yule Ball**

Raiden sighed. While all the other boys fourth year and above had gone crazy trying to ask girls out, most getting tongue tied and stupid in the attempt, he had stayed calm and cool. Unlike most of his year mates he knew that the girl he liked liked him in return so there was no fear of rejection. Armed with this knowledge he walked into the common room one night after studying in the library and found Daphne sitting on the couch, staring at the fire.

"Hey Daph, what's up?" he asked.

Daphne turned to him and smiled, although it was a little wobbly. "Hey Harry. I'm just worried about the Ball, I mean, no one's asked me yet and it's not a good thing for a girl to go alone."

Harry shrugged. "Well, did it ever occur to you that you hadn't been asked yet because everyone knows that we're together, sort of, and that they were letting me get round to asking you?"

Daphne turned to face him fully. "Was that an invitation to the Ball, Harry James Potter?" she asked.

Raiden smirked. "No." As her face fell, he silently conjured fairy lights and a small enchanted snowfall above them.

"This is" he whispered, before taking her hands in his, and twisting off the couch, landing on one knee. Holding her hands gently yet firmly he asked, "Daphne, will you go to the Ball with me?"

Daphne laughed and replied, "Yes" before pulling him up and hugging him. She let him go after a bit and then asked, "Harry, when you got down on your knee like that I half thought the question was going to be something else."

Raiden laughed now, and hugged her again, before saying with a grin, "We're a bit young for that don't you think?" They laughed before settling down on the couch and watched the fire, eventually falling asleep. One of the prefects, coming back from a late night patrol found them and levitated them to their own beds, to avoid any comments of impropriety at a later stage.

The next morning, Daphne awoke, hoping that she hadn't dreamt the whole thing. She was relieved when she spotted Raiden waiting for her just inside the door to the common room. Holding out an arm he smiled and said, "Shall we practice for the Ball?"

Grinning and chuckling, the pair made their way up to the Great Hall, sobering when they reached the doors. Walking inside they made their way to the Slytherin table and sat down for breakfast. Raiden was mildly intrigued when Viktor Krum came to sit with him. The Durmstrang champion had said nothing bad about him at all, unlike Fleur Delacour. Cedric had remained silent too, but Raiden knew that the Hufflepuff was uncomfortable with the vilification that Raiden was taking from the rest of the school and wasn't willing to add to it. For that, Raiden was grateful and had asked the Avengers to leave him alone. The other Slytherins had seen his reasoning and had scaled back their intimidation attempts as well, resorting to cheering loudest and providing the most support for Raiden instead.

As it was a Saturday, Raiden thought he would devote more time to figuring out his egg clue. He had finished his homework and was getting highly frustrated with the fact that every time he opened his egg, the most horrible screeching came out of it. Sitting on the couch in the common room after breakfast, he tried opening it again, slamming it shut a second later as his ears violently protested at the noise.

"Maybe you have to fight off the Cruciatus curse?" Theodore Nott suggested. He wasn't part of the Avengers but he was friendly with them. Daphne, Blaise and Draco gave him dirty looks while Raiden ignored him being too interested in hissing swear words at the egg in Parseltongue. He had a localized silencing charm up so he could hear and respond to his friends, but no one else could hear what he was saying to the egg. That way he could swear in Parseltongue and not give away his secret.

Finally, Raiden looked up at the rest of the Avengers and Theo and growled. "It won't respond to anything I've tried. Theo, they wouldn't subject us to the Unforgivables, the Tournament is supposed to be challenging but fun, and subjecting us to the torture curse would definitely not be fun."

Sighing and glaring at the egg, Raiden continued in a morose tone, "No, there's some trick to it that I have to figure out."

He then rose and headed off to the bathroom, carrying the egg. He was hot and needed a bath. He also thought that maybe the bath would clear his head and allow him to figure out the clue. The rest of the Avengers followed him to the dorm room and sat on the beds, completing their homework, and wondering when Raiden was going to come out of the bathroom and why he took the egg with him.

A few minutes later Hermione poked her head in. "Hey guys, why are you all sitting here?" she asked, curious. Her Slytherin friends were normally given to studying in the sun, which led to jokes from the other Houses about snakes and sunbathing. Hermione herself preferred to study at night, which fitted her animagus form of an owl.

The other three members of the Avengers looked up and smirked at her which Hermione had come to learn was their version of a smile. "Hey Mione. We were just finishing up our homework and then we were going to get started again on our animagus anatomy research," Blaise answered.

Hermione nodded, and brought her animagus research out of her bag. "I've finished my homework and was looking for you guys so we could do the animagus stuff together. Where's Raiden?"

Hermione had been told of Harry's Dark Lord name as well when she was fully brought into the fold and had shown a surprising aptitude for researching Dark Arts spells for them. She could sweet talk almost any teacher into letting her have passes for the Restricted Section under the guise of research for DADA, and had copied several spells and made lists out of those books that couldn't be copied. The Avengers had benefited greatly from this, even if they were leery of researching the truly Dark Arts such as Necromancy and other such things. Spells for eviscerating people, erasing parts of the anatomy, and other such spells were subjects of interest though. After some discreet digging by Hermione, and talking with Madam Pomfrey, the Avengers discovered a whole new class of spells to use. Healing spells, which were generally used to heal people, could also be used to kill them if you left out the specific parts of the spells. It was with great interest that they learnt the spells as they should be used, and then wrote ways to use them for the opposite use.

Just then they heard a loud curse from the bathroom and then muffled gurgling for a bit, before Raiden called out, "Hey guys, I figured out the clue. Or at least I've heard it."

Raiden came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped firmly round his waist. He stopped short at seeing Hermione and Daphne in the room, and blushed slightly before calmly walking to his bed and shutting the curtains. The two female members of the Avengers looked at each other and then Hermione said, "Daphne, you'd better not lose him otherwise I'll be snapping him up."

Daphne nodded, still wide eyed at the unintentional peep show that her sort of boyfriend had given them. Years of martial arts, Quidditch and garden chores had given Raiden a nice set of muscles even at age fourteen. Once Raiden was dressed he opened the curtains and fixed Hermione and Daphne with a look.

"Stop drooling, we're only fourteen," he snapped.

Both girls blushed, and then Hermione growled, "Oi, I'm fifteen thanks." Raiden merely looked at her and she dropped her eyes.

"Sorry" they muttered.

Raiden nodded, before stretching out Draco's bed. "Like I said, I heard the clue. The damn egg fell into the water and opened. I thought it was broken but then I heard singing so I ducked under and heard the song. It's a riddle."

"So what did it say?" Draco asked. He and Hermione liked riddles, unlike Daphne, Blaise and Raiden, who loathed them.

Raiden gave the two logically minded Avengers a mock glare and then said "Try this on for size then"

_Come seek us where our voices sound_

_We cannot sing above the ground_

_An hour long you'll have to look_

_To recover what we took_

"Hmm, so someone or something that can't talk above ground will take something of yours that you have to recover in an hour. So what type of creature can't sing above ground?" Hermione muttered.

The Avengers all thought hard before Raiden looked out the window and by chance saw a mermaid rise out of the water briefly. Looking back at the riddle again, he grinned.

"Got it!" he exclaimed. Seeing the puzzled looks on his friends' faces he shook his head. "Merpeople! They live in the lake and can't talk above ground; they make that same weird screechy sound. I can't believe I didn't recognize it before."

Looking at his friends, his face suddenly fell. "Oh bugger" he muttered.

Daphne frowned. "What is it, Harry?"

Raiden looked at her before saying, "Well, how the hell do I survive for an hour underwater? We haven't learnt the bubble head charm yet, we learn that next year."

The Avengers all looked at each other and shrugged. Seeing that they weren't going to get anywhere else on the egg, they settled down to work on their animagus research. Daphne and Raiden worked together on their serpent forms, while Blaise looked at the anatomy of the Alsatian dog. Hermione was researching her owl form while Draco was busy looking up his ferret form. After two hours they took a break and sat up, rubbing their eyes and massaging cramps from their hands and fingers as they'd been taking lots of notes and doing drawings of the inside and outside of their forms.

Blaise looked round and then said slowly, "It seems a bit odd to be researching how to change into our forms if we don't have names for them. We have two snakes, one ferret, one owl and a dog here, or we will at any rate. We should start thinking of possible names for them."

The rest of the group nodded and sank into a contemplative silence. Finally Hermione spoke up. "We should consider the fact that Harry and Daphne will be two different breeds of snake, so they can't have the same sort of name."

Raiden and Daphne looked at each other and then slowly nodded. "Makes sense, I'm a king cobra and Daphne is a python," Raiden replied. "Any ideas?"

After no ideas were offered, Raiden sighed and rolled over, looking up at the ceiling. "What about oh, Athena for Hermione's form?"

Hermione looked at him and Raiden shrugged. Thinking about it for a few minutes she nodded, pleased with the name. Looking round Raiden shrugged again. "That's one. Anyone else?"

Daphne spoke up hesitantly. "How about um, Argentum for Draco's form. It means silver in Latin." Draco looked at her and then at the rest of the Avengers before nodding his head. "Fitting. My eyes are silvery grey. I like it. Argentum it is then. My turn to name one of the rest of you. We have Athena for Hermione, Argentum for me, so what about, Blaise. Let me think."

After thinking for a few minutes he said, "What about Lassie?"

He ducked as Blaise threw a pillow at him. "I am not a girl Draco!" the semi annoyed but still amused Blaise growled back. Draco righted himself and straightened out his robes before smirking at the other boy.

"Fine, fine, you can come up with your own name then. I'll name Daphne's form. What about Slither?"

"Slither? That's the best you can come up with for a snake?" Daphne said in disbelief.

Draco shrugged. "There aren't that many names we can use and still remain anonymous. Besides, I was considering Harry's animagus name as Hisser."

The Avengers looked at each other before cracking up with laughter. "Hehehe can you imagine introducing ourselves as Messrs Hisser, Argentum and Lassie, and Misses Athena and Slither" Raiden chuckled. Seeing the annoyed look on Blaise and Daphne's faces he held up his hands. "Don't worry; we're not staying with the names Slither, Hisser and Lassie. Argentum and Athena can stay as their owners seem to like them."

"What would you suggest for our forms then?" Blaise asked.

Raiden frowned. "I was thinking about Diablo for you Blaise. I need to think a bit more for Daphne's and for mine."

"Diablo huh? I like it," Blaise murmured. "Sounds much better. Introducing Messrs Argentum, Diablo and Hisser, and Misses Athena and whatever Daphne's name will be."

Now it was Blaise's turn to duck a pillow, this time thrown by Raiden. "I am not naming myself Hisser!" he hissed at his friend before lapsing back into silence and thinking. They had names for Draco, Blaise and Hermione, but Daphne's and his were proving troublesome. Finally he sighed.

"Any ideas Daph?" he asked, using the shortened version of her name that he and he alone was allowed to use. Hermione accepted the shortened version of her own name, that being Mione from the Avengers and only them. She shook her head.

"Sorry, Harry, no clue. We'll come up with them. Try thinking of names fitting our specific snake forms. What about Veneficus for you? It means poisonous."

Raiden thought about it and then kissed Daphne suddenly. "Brilliant. I love it. Messrs Argentum, Diablo and Veneficus and Miss Athena will attempt to come up with a name for you," he said, grinning as the rest of the Avengers all smirked, or in Hermione's case smiled, at their new names. By an unspoken arrangement, the group then went back to studying their animal forms. By lunch they had the drawings completed and were ready for the next stage, that being the meditation to free their forms and change for the first time. Sirius would be taking them through this stage over Christmas. As a registered animagus he could teach others the skill and had told the Ministry that he would be training five students in the art.

They walked up to lunch and sat in their usual spot at the Slytherin table. It was now not unusual to see Hermione sitting at the green and silver table although Professor Flitwick had been seen looking somewhat mournful at the fact that one of his brightest students preferred the snake pit to the eagle's nest as Ravenclaw and Slytherin were unofficially known. This lunch time contained a couple of surprises.

First was the commotion at the Gryffindor table. The Avengers just about split their sides laughing at the dress robes Ron Weasley held up. "Those were very fashionable in about the fourteenth century," Draco whispered to the others. Raiden felt very glad that Lucius and Narcissa, along with Sirius insisted on his having proper dress robes to wear. Daphne hadn't seen them, and he hadn't seen hers, but Narcissa had got together with Daphne's mother and they had made sure that their robes complimented each other.

The other surprise was Viktor Krum coming up to them. He looked uncharacteristically nervous and they were curious as to why. Looking round at the other students who were trying to listen in, Viktor said, "May I have a word with all of you after lunch? In private?"

The Avengers looked at each other before turning back to face Viktor. "Yes, just follow us after we've finished" Raiden replied. Viktor nodded and was turning to go when Hermione spoke up. Looking rather shy, she invited Viktor to sit down with them. After a moment's hesitation he did so. Draco, Blaise and Raiden exchanged a glance, all of them thinking the same thing _'I wonder if he's going to ask Hermione to the Ball?'_

After lunch, the Avengers, followed by Viktor retired outside to their favorite study spot. They sat down on the grass and Viktor followed suit, still looking rather uncomfortable. After a brief silence Raiden decided to start the ball rolling.

"Viktor, are you interested in Hermione?" he asked. Hermione gasped softly and then blushed furiously when Viktor nodded. Raiden raised an eyebrow and then turned to the two girls.

"Stay here, we're going to talk to Viktor for a minute" he said before pulling Viktor to his feet and then the three Slytherins surrounded the Bulgarian champion and retreated to a nearby tree.

"Do you want to ask Hermione to the Ball?" Draco asked.

Viktor nodded and then growled, "Yes, why do you keep asking?"

Blaise snorted. "It hasn't escaped your notice then that we're a bit protective of her and want to see her treated right?"

Viktor sighed and then answered "No it hadn't escaped me. It is why I wanted to talk to all of you before asking Her my oh knee." He pronounced her name carefully, not wanting to get it wrong. A smile from Raiden reassured him that he had it right, and he relaxed a bit.

Blaise, Draco and Raiden exchanged another glance before Raiden said, "You don't need our permission to ask her to the Ball, Viktor, but we will hurt you if you hurt her. Got it?"

Viktor nodded. "Yes. I will not hurt her, and I look forward to hopefully being friends with you all."

The other three relaxed at this and smiled. "Have a good time at the Ball, and good luck on the second task," Raiden said before he led Draco and Blaise back to where Daphne and Hermione were sitting.

Viktor looked at the group for a minute before walking back to the castle. He wouldn't ask Hermione now; he would wait till they had some privacy and then ask her. He thought about Raiden and then smirked to himself, he hadn't thought the younger boy had it in him to compete in the Tournament but so far he had proved to be a worthy opponent. The second task would indeed be interesting.

Two weeks later, Raiden and Daphne were in the room of requirement, along with Narcissa and Sirius. The two adults had requested permission to visit with Daphne and Raiden and Dumbledore had allowed it, although he was clearly not happy. The room was currently silenced and invisible to people walking around outside. Inside was a comedy film in the making as Sirius and Narcissa tried to teach Raiden to dance without stepping on Daphne's toes too much.

"No, Raiden, you need to twirl her the _other_ way and for Merlin's sake start working out, you need to be able to lift her and hold her up while you turn round at that part of the dance. It's no good dropping your partner halfway you know," Sirius snorted as Raiden helped Daphne up from where he'd dropped her for the tenth time. It was a good thing that they were practicing now, a good month from the Ball and not a week before. It was also good that the floor had automatic cushioning charms that activated whenever anyone fell on the floor because otherwise Daphne and Raiden would both have a lot of bruises.

Grinning at each other, Raiden and Daphne took their starting positions again and this time they managed to get through the entire song without tripping up once, although it was clumsy and nowhere near the graceful dance it would need to be. That would come with more practice though.

At the end of the session, they could perform a passable waltz, and had started the foxtrot. They wouldn't dance every dance and they had been told that the second half of the ball would be informal so they didn't need to learn a whole lot of formal dances, just the waltz and a couple of others. With further sessions, they would improve and be more than ready come the actual Ball night or so Raiden hoped as he downed a vial of Pain Reliever potion, and noticed Daphne doing the same.

"Sorry about your toes, Daph," he said as they left the room.

She smirked and replied, "It's OK, sorry about kneeing you in the nuts that one time. It was an accident." Raiden nodded and the pair chuckled quietly as they returned to the Slytherin common room for a game of Exploding Snap before bed.

Over the next few weeks, Raiden and Daphne continued to practice dancing. Having been told that the champions would be expected to open the dancing with a waltz, they practiced that one the most, until they could do the steps without thinking. Once they achieved that, they spent the time that they were dancing, also talking, about school, about the tournament, and about their relationship. Raiden was finally convinced to admit that they were boyfriend and girlfriend, although he still wouldn't permit them to go any further than the odd kiss and frequent hugging. The hugging wasn't so much a relationship thing as it was also a healing thing for Raiden. Growing up with the Dursleys he hadn't received very many hugs and so Daphne found herself in the odd position of having to teach Raiden that he was allowed to casually put an arm round her shoulders as a friendly thing, as well as the usual type of boyfriend/girlfriend hugging. Fortunately, Raiden was a fast learner, but he still liked to hug her as often as she permitted, while in private. In public, they wore their Slytherin masks and kept the growing affection well hidden as was expected.

The night of the Yule Ball came and the castle was thrown into a frenzy as girls rushed everywhere with hair products and make up strewn all over the bathrooms and fighting over the mirrors. The guys were less worried about looks, just making sure they looked respectable and smart before congregating in their common rooms or the small room off the great hall to wait for their dates. It was then that they started worrying about whether they would look alright, because they didn't want to embarrass their dates.

Raiden was utilizing every ounce of Occlumency he'd ever learnt to stay calm. He didn't realize that he was projecting a bit of his nervousness down the link to his master and was startled when Voldemort opened the bond and inquired as to what was going on. On hearing that it was the Ball night, the older wizard merely chuckled, wished him good luck and closed the bond. Raiden huffed in annoyance and then turned to look at the entrance to the girl's dormitory.

"Oh dear Merlin," he whispered when he saw Daphne. She was dressed in robes of a light silver color, with hints of emerald green, which complimented his emerald green robes with hints of silver very well. Her hair was done up in a bun with small ringlets falling forward and framing her face. He had managed to partially tame his hair so it wasn't sticking up everywhere and now looked stylishly messy. Holding out his arm, he smiled when she took it and turned with her, before walking out of the common room and up to the Great Hall. They arrived to see Cedric Diggory waiting with Cho Chang. Rumor had it that they were a couple as well. Roger Davies, a Ravenclaw looked delighted to be standing with Fleur Delacour, and Viktor gave Raiden a small smile when he came up to them with Hermione on his arm. The four stood talking for a few minutes before Professor McGonagall came along to organize them into the line so they could enter the Hall.

The Great Hall looked beautiful. There were enchanted snowflakes falling all around, and small tables dotted round the sides of the hall, leaving about half of the space open for dancing. The four champions and their dates walked up the centre aisle of students and took their places on the dance floor. Raiden and Daphne looked at each other and Raiden murmured, "Moment of truth." Daphne nodded before the music started and the four couples began to dance.

Raiden and Daphne moved gracefully over the floor, Raiden carefully steering his girlfriend out of the way of the others. When it came time for the lift and twirl part, he sent a quick prayer up and lifted Daphne, both of them delighted when they completed the maneuver with no problems. After a few minutes they noticed other couples coming out to dance, with Draco and Pansy and Blaise and Nora among them. Soon the whole floor was filled with couples and it became harder to steer so Raiden resorted to revolving on the spot and occasionally moving from side to side or back and forth to avoid other couples. It wasn't just the students dancing either; Raiden had spotted Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall dancing together. He then had a wild idea.

Giving Daphne to Blaise, he made his way over to Minerva, who had stopped dancing and retired to the edge of the floor. She looked oddly at him as he approached her. "Mr Potter, may I help you? You looked like you were having fun out there."

"I was Professor" Raiden replied. Taking a breath he said, "I was hoping that I could have the honor of having this next dance with you."

Minerva McGonagall was shocked, in all her years, never had a student asked to dance with her. Looking at him, she noticed the sincere look in his eyes and knew that this wasn't a joke to him. "Erm, Mr Potter, I'm not sure it would be appropriate" she hedged.

Raiden's face fell slightly. "It's not anything inappropriate Professor, I just want to try dancing with someone taller than I am."

Minerva thought for a moment before agreeing. "One dance Mr Potter" she said and Raiden inwardly exulted as he led his Transfiguration Professor onto the floor. One dance later and he returned her to her place with the rest of the staff. He stopped when he felt her hand grip his shoulder.

"That was a very nice dance Mr Potter, you're very good."

Raiden smiled at her and replied, "Ask Sirius to show you the memories of the practice sessions between Daphne and I, Professor, it wasn't so easy then. And, thank you too, for not refusing."

Minerva nodded in acknowledgement and Raiden left to go talk to Daphne. He was intercepted by Hermione who dragged him off for a dance, telling him that Viktor needed a rest. In between avoiding other students they discussed the ball but not the tournament. When Hermione left him Raiden noticed Ron Weasley sitting with one of the Patil twins, Padma he thought her name was, from Ravenclaw. She looked distinctly unhappy, and Ron wasn't paying her any attention at all. Smirking to himself, Raiden made his way over.

"It's Padma isn't it?" he asked as he sat down beside her.

She looked at him, before answering, "Yes it is. How did you know?"

Raiden smiled. "You and your sister are different people, I can tell the difference easily. Parvati is more into boys than books I think, while you are the opposite. Are you having a good time?"

Padma wasn't all that suspicious of him, after all Ravenclaw and Slytherin historically got on well so she smirked at him and replied "I would be if my date would pay attention to me and not Hermione."

Raiden looked annoyed. "How could he do something like that? It's deplorable. Would you allow me to make it up to you by way of a dance?"

Padma smiled. "I'd love to, thank you Harry. Won't your girlfriend be upset?"

Raiden smiled. "Hermione told her what I'm doing over here. We trust each other. Have you met Daphne yet?" Padma shook her head so Raiden continued, "Well, after this dance I'll introduce you. It would be good for Hermione to have another friend that isn't in Slytherin. Apparently most of Ravenclaw have been giving her the cold shoulder for her friendship with me."

Padma shook her head in vigorous denial as Raiden steered her round the floor. "No, that was some of the older years who were jealous of her brains. We want to get to know her but she spends so little time in the Tower these days that we really can't."

Raiden smiled and shook his head. "Sounds like one massive case of miscommunication to me," he said. Padma laughed and agreed. When the dance ended they made their way over to the Avengers table and by the end of the night the two Ravenclaw girls were on their way to becoming good friends, although Padma would not be inducted into the Avengers until a few years down the track. Hermione agreed to spend more time with the Ravenclaws while not neglecting her Slytherin friends either, even though the Slytherins assured her that they wouldn't revoke her password privileges. Padma was stunned to hear that the notoriously secretive Slytherins had given Hermione access to their House due to her strong friendship with Draco, Blaise, Daphne and Raiden. She was also becoming tentative friends with Daphne and assured her that she had no plans to steal Raiden.

At the end of the night, which wasn't until two am, the exhausted fourth years left for their common rooms. Viktor, who had shared their table headed back to the ship where the Durmstrang students were sleeping. It was apparently quite comfortable. Raiden was still pondering the mystery of how to survive an hour underwater sometime in February and went to sleep with that question on his mind. Information on potions floated through his mind and his subconscious examined it while he slept. One potion had used gilly weed and his subconscious pulled up the information on the herb, information which quite neatly solved the mystery. Anyone that ate gillyweed would develop gills and fins and have to stay underwater until the effects wore off. This information percolated through to his conscious mind and Raiden sat straight up in bed at 5am and said,

"GILLY WEED!"


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter Twenty Four: Tournament Woes: The Second Task and Other Things**

It was now February and the time for the second task was fast approaching. Raiden was more concerned with another important date in February though, that being Valentine's Day as he had worked out the egg clue and what to do about it. Now he was planning how to have a nice Valentine's Day and doing the planning in their favorite study spot by the lake.

'What to do, what to do' he thought before turning round as he heard footsteps behind him. Seeing that it was Hermione he relaxed, and then sat up straight again as an idea occurred to him. Who better to ask what a girl would like on Valentine's Day than another girl.

"Hey, Athena" he began, using her Avenger name. Hermione turned and smiled. She had been spending more time with the Ravenclaws of late, getting to know them. She had made friends with her year mates and even a few in third year who needed homework help.

"Yes, Veneficus" she said, flopping down beside him.

Raiden smiled. "I was planning what to do for Valentine's Day but realized that I didn't know what girls like to do on that day" he admitted. He glared at Hermione when she giggled.

"Oh Veneficus," she said, before chuckling again. She sobered as she found herself staring down the length of his wand.

Raiden was highly annoyed. "If you laugh at me again I will curse you so that any book you read from now till Valentine's Day is in gobbledegook. All books, including textbooks. Translation charms won't work either. Borrowing your friends' books also won't help."

Hermione gaped, before nodding. "Alright, Harry, no need to do that. I'm sorry. I assume you'd like some advice?" At his nod she settled down and began giving him an overview of what girls liked on Valentine's Day. Raiden went away from the conversation with several good ideas.

The next person he needed to talk to was Professor Snape. Walking inside he stopped to consider where his Head of House might be found at that time. It was a Sunday, so he might be in the dungeons, using one of the upper year's classrooms for potion brewing. Raiden decided to try his office first, and then go from there.

After not finding his professor in his office, his classroom, or the Slytherin common room, Raiden leaned against the wall and gently knocked his head against it a few times. Really, Snape had the most annoying habit of turning up when least expected or wanted, and not being around when you needed him. He was just turning to go and try the hospital wing when a shadow detached itself from the nearby alcove and a voice said, "Looking for someone, Mr Potter?"

Raiden spun round, wand out and a hex on his lips before he recognized the owner of the voice. Lowering his wand he glared at Snape and said, "Yes actually sir, I was looking for you."

Severus raised an eyebrow and gestured to the common room entrance. "Let's talk in there; it will be more private than out here." Raiden eyed him for a minute before nodding and preceding the man inside. They settled down on the couches, and Snape locked his eyes with those of his student.

"What did you need me for, Harry?" he asked.

Raiden looked at him and then replied, "I've solved the egg clue, Professor. I need some gillyweed for the task."

"Gillyweed. Yes that would work. Do you want some to practice with so you're used to it before the actual task?" Snape offered. Raiden looked surprised, before nodding. He wasn't going to give up a chance to practice if Snape was offering it. He heard his teacher get up and a moment later the common room door closed softly behind him.

Ten minutes later he was back, with a small amount of gillyweed with him. Raiden rose and took the herb. He was headed for the bath when Snape stopped him. Looking slightly past him, Snape said, "I will need to be in the room when you use it, just for safety purposes. Go and change into your swimming gear and then wait in the bath. Do not ingest the gillyweed until I say so."

"Yes sir," Raiden replied before heading for his dorm. He was slightly embarrassed that his teacher would be watching him swim round in his togs but understood the safety aspect of it. In short order he was in his togs and in the bath, holding the gillyweed in one hand and the side of the bath with the other. Snape sat in a chair and spelled the tub to be larger and deeper so Raiden could swim round in comfort. The sides were spelled to be transparent as well so Snape could see if Raiden got into difficulties.

"The amount I gave you there will last for ten minutes. I will of course give you a larger amount that will last for the full hour on the day of the task. Eat it. You should feel like you can't breathe above water two minutes after eating it. At that point, let yourself go under the surface and start swallowing water."

Raiden nodded in acknowledgement of the instructions and followed them to the letter. The gillyweed worked exactly as Snape had said it would and Raiden spent the ten minutes pretending he was a fish much to his enjoyment. Snape kept one eye on his student and the other on the latest issue of the Potions Journal, and thinking up a scathingly critical letter to write to the author of a particular paper on Wolfsbane, which called the potion a "waste of time and effort." The Wolfsbane potion had been the one which got Snape his Mastery and he sold it under a pseudonym to those that could afford it. For Remus Lupin he made it for free as Sirius had requested that he do so. It was part of Voldemort's plan for getting Remus, and eventually the other werewolves over to the Dark Side, that being free wolfsbane each month, whereas the Light Side would force the werewolves to pay for it while knowing that most couldn't due to the restrictions on them getting decent jobs.

Once the gillyweed wore off, Raiden surfaced, thanked Snape for the practice and then made to get out of the bath. He was amused at the speed with which his professor left the room, and hopped out of the bath, swiftly drying off and redressing. When he entered the common room, Snape was gone but a note from him lay on the table, which said,

_Meet me in the Potions classroom at 8am the morning of the Second Task. I will have the gillyweed then._

_Severus Snape_

Pocketing the note Raiden extended his hand and silently summoned his homework to him. He only had Potions and Transfiguration left to do and he spent the next few hours writing and rewriting the two essays before finally being satisfied that they were the best he could make them. He thought that Hermione's might be better but then again, she was rapidly becoming the queen of their year with regard to grades so he wasn't too upset over it. He and Draco were fighting for the king position anyway.

He had just put his work safely away when Pansy Parkinson came into the common room. Raiden didn't like her very much, she seemed intent on breaking up the relationship between him and Daphne, and was hanging all over Draco so much that the blonde had sworn to Raiden and Blaise one night that he was going to hex her to be unrecognizable if she continued pestering him. Raiden looked up at her and sneered slightly.

"What do you want, Parkinson?" he asked.

Pansy blinked, and then backed up a bit. "I wanted to see if Draco was around anywhere, I have a message for him," she finally replied, annoyed that the Avengers seemed intent on keeping her away from Draco.

"He's brewing an important potion with Professor Snape at the moment and can't be disturbed" Raiden lied smoothly. In truth, Draco was with Daphne, Blaise and Hermione in the library, doing more research on their animagus forms just so they'd be totally ready for Easter, when Sirius was going to help them transform for the first time.

Pansy pouted and then snarled, "Fine. When he returns, point him in my direction would you."

Raiden hissed at her, mentally thanking Voldemort for allowing him to spend time with his familiar Nagini. The large snake had taught him to hiss properly without using parseltongue. Pansy backed up again, her eyes wide and Raiden inwardly exulted at the small victory.

"I don't think so. He doesn't like you and your habit of fawning all over him has him wanting to hex you senseless. Give me the message and I'll see that he gets it."

Pansy growled as her face turned an ugly puce color. "Very well. Tell him that he'll want to talk to his parents. My parents contacted me to say that the marriage contract between our families has been decided on and the two of us will be married when we graduate."

With that said she left in a huff while Raiden slowly made his way to the library, his mind in a whirl. He half wanted to be behind a solid shield when the news was told, his "brother" would not be happy. Sitting down beside Hermione, he withdrew his notes and drawings and began to study them. They were so engrossed in study that they jumped when a throat was cleared behind them.

"Madam Pince, do you need anything?" Hermione asked.

Irma Pince gave her a small smile, Hermione was one of her favorites. "Yes actually, did you five realize its dinner time?"

The Avengers looked at each other and then leapt to their feet. They hadn't realized the time but now they did they became aware of their growling stomachs and they raced down to the Great Hall. They paused just long enough to compose themselves before walking sedately in; it wouldn't do to show the rest of the school that they were human as well. After dinner, they retired to the Slytherin common room where Raiden decided that sooner was better than later with regards to the message that Pansy had given him to pass on to Draco.

"Um, Draco. Can we talk in private for a minute?" he asked. Draco looked at him and then nodded, curious about what his brother could possibly have to talk about that couldn't be said in front of their friends.

Walking into the dorm, Draco was intrigued when Raiden turned and cast several locking and silencing spells on the door, before sitting down on one of the beds.

"Harry what's got you in such a state?" he asked.

He was worried when Raiden looked at him and then shook his head. "Don't blow your top at me, Drake. Pansy Parkinson approached me today. She wanted to give a message to you but I stopped her. She gave it to me instead to pass on to you." Looking Draco straight in the eyes he continued, "You might want to contact your parents; Parkinson mentioned something about a marriage contract between the Malfoy and Parkinson families. She said that it had been decided and that you and she would be married after graduation in three years time."

Draco was now very pale but his eyes showed that he was furious. Growling, he stood and paced round the dorm, occasionally hissing expletives under his breath. Finally he stopped and whirled round, facing Raiden.

"I TOLD them I didn't like Parkinson, I told them that I would sooner marry Ginny Weasley than that pug faced cow. I can't believe that they signed the contract. Why?"

Raiden shrugged. "I don't know. You'd better write and ask." He watched as Draco hurriedly grabbed some parchment and a quill before writing a hasty letter to his father. Looking round for an owl, he yelped as Salazar landed on his head, digging his sharp talons into the blond locks with what seemed like malicious amusement.

"Don't even think about it!" Draco spat when it became clear that Salazar was contemplating leaving a present in his hair. The owl hooted and Raiden held up an arm.

"Come here you stupid bird," he said with a grin, and Salazar pushed off from his perch on Draco's head, digging his talons in further for a brief instant and landed on his owner's shoulder. Hooting affectionately, the owl gently nibbled on Raiden's ear before reluctantly allowing Draco to tie his letter to his leg. With another hoot he took off, flying out the window and off to Malfoy Manor.

"That owl is a bloody menace. He only likes you, he just tolerates the rest of us," Draco grumbled.

Raiden chuckled before flopping backwards on his own bed and saying, "Hey, if you don't like Parkinson, Daphne's off limits and you obviously won't be marrying Ginny Weasley, then who are you interested in?" Thinking for a moment he asked, "It isn't that you play for the other team is it?"

The next instant, Raiden ducked a well aimed Stinging Hex and used his bed for a shield. "OK, OK I get it, you like girls. Are you interested in any though?"

Draco calmed down and flopped down on his own bed, shooting his adopted brother a wry look. "It's a pity Hermione's a muggle born. If she wasn't, I could see myself with her. Unfortunately my father, our father really, since he's your guardian, would throw a fit."

"Why was he not against becoming my guardian then, if blood is so important to him? After all, I might be the Potter heir but I'm a half blood by birth," Raiden queried.

Draco shrugged. "It's not because of your Boy-Who-Lived status, nor is it your Dark Apprentice status either. He respects blood yes but also power. You are powerful, Raiden, or you will be when you reach your majority. Hermione, for all her love of books and spell knowledge will never be as powerful as you and I, even though she's going to be a powerful witch in her own right. Father just won't be able to see past her muggle born status to consider her as a suitable match for me. He doesn't mind us being friends, but anything more than that would be strongly discouraged."

Seeing that Raiden looked thoughtful, he snorted and continued, "He also saw an opportunity to help you learn your proper place in society, as the heir of an old, politically powerful, and rich pureblood family. He does care about you, Raiden, and so does Mother."

Raiden smirked. "I know they do, Drake, and I appreciate it. I just don't get the issues with blood purity when you're essentially breeding yourselves out of existence. It's the reason for my insistence on the strong muggle borns like Hermione being allowed to stay in the wizarding world. Magic remains strong while the gene pool is diversified enough to remain stable."

"I don't either really, but this is too serious a conversation for right now. Let's revisit it when you and our Lord start remodeling the world shall we?" Both of them laughed and mutually shelved the issue for later discussion.

"Have you figured out what to do about the second task yet? It is next week you know," Draco said.

Raiden laughed. "Yes I have. Professor Snape let me use gillyweed this afternoon for ten minutes. He will also give me enough to last for the one hour next week. It gives me gills and allows me to breathe underwater. It's great; you feel like a fish for the time that you have the gills. You also get webbed hands and fins for feet."

"Brilliant" Draco breathed. Raiden nodded and then took down the silencing and locking spells on the door before they discussed other things, such as finding a suitable name for Daphne's animagus form which they still hadn't decided on yet. It was a fact which was frustrating the young witch in question to no end. Soon Blaise and Theodore joined them and after a discussion on the Tournament, with the Slytherins being derogatory towards the rest of Hogwarts who continued to be non-supportive of Raiden, they went to sleep.

A week later, Raiden woke up late. After checking the time he swore and jumped out of bed, running to the shower and grabbing his swimming gear.

"Damn damn damn, how the hell could I oversleep on today of all days," he hissed to himself as he ran to the Potions classroom, bursting in and finding the gillyweed on the front desk, next to another note from Snape.

_Potter_

_You're late. Get yourself to the lake as soon as possible if you don't want to lose the Task before you even begin. _

_Severus Snape_

Picking up the gillyweed, Raiden thought for a moment before snapping his fingers. He summoned his broom to him and literally flew through the halls of Hogwarts and out of the front doors. Laying low on his broom he pushed it to maximum speed, arriving at the lake with a minute to spare. Jumping off the broom he shrunk it, and threw it to Blaise who caught it with a smirk. Grinning, Raiden listened to the announcement, while chewing the gillyweed. He swallowed it and dived into the water with the other champions when the cannon fired.

He sank down towards the bottom of the lake, feeling the odd sensations of gills forming and the webbing on his hands and feet forming as well. If he hadn't had the practice session first he might have panicked but since he had, he merely examined the new additions with interest, half wishing that he could transform like this every time he swum in the lake during the year. With a smirk he kicked his finned feet and began swimming towards the faint sound of singing. Reviewing the information from the clue and from the introduction at the beginning of the Task he stopped, pondering something.

'They'll take a treasure of mine. Daphne went missing last night and I didn't see her in the group up above. Logically she must be my treasure. So, let's go get her.' He checked his watch, glad that he had had it charmed to be waterproof and indestructible and began swimming faster as time was ticking away. A movement off to the side caught his attention and he scowled.

'Grindylows' he thought in disgust. He had nothing against the creatures, but they would slow him down if he allowed them to attack him. Thinking quickly he drew his wand and silently cast a spell that made the water around him too hot for the grindylows to be comfortable with while keeping it at a perfectly comfortable temperature for him. He then had the satisfaction of watching several grindylows fall victim to his spell before the others got the hint and left him alone.

Proceeding onward he found a large stand of seaweed, which was between him and the singing, which was perfectly audible now. Carefully he made his way through, stopping several times to disentangle himself from the slimy weed. Finally he was through and what he saw stopped him in his tracks.

Daphne and Hermione were floating next to each other. Their eyes were closed, but bubbles floating upwards from their mouths indicated that they were in some sort of enchanted sleep. Beside them floated a young girl that bore such a resemblance to Fleur Delacour that Raiden immediately deduced them to be sisters. The last person was Cho Chang.

'Well, Cho is obviously Cedric's treasure, the girl is Fleur's, Hermione must be Viktor's and Daphne is mine. I just have to trust that Viktor will save Hermione. Cho isn't my concern, and I can't save the other one. They won't let her drown if Fleur isn't here in time.'

Raiden drew his wand and silently cast a severing charm at the seaweed that acted as a rope holding Daphne down. As she started to float upwards, he grabbed her arm and kicked upwards.

"Forgive me Hermione but Daphne is my only concern right now," he whispered, even as he saw the weird half man-half shark form of Krum emerging from the shadowy water. Assured that Hermione would be safe he turned and began towing Daphne to the surface.

There was a loud cheer when his and Daphne's heads broke the surface of the water. Looking round, Raiden could see that they were in first place and he began helping Daphne towards the edge of the lake. Another cheer informed him that another of the champions had made it back and when he got to the edge of the lake, Raiden found out that it was Viktor and Hermione. Minutes after that, Cedric Diggory also surfaced with Cho.

Minutes passed and they all waited to see whether Fleur would emerge with her sister. Cedric, Cho, Raiden, Daphne, Viktor and Hermione had all been given Pepper-Up potions and had changed into dry clothes while waiting. Finally Dumbledore went down to the lake and stuck his head underwater, talking with the leader of the Merpeople. He pulled his head back out after a minute, wearing a grave look on his face.

Standing back from the lake, he swished his wand and the bodies of Fleur and Gabrielle Delacour floated up out of the lake. They had been killed by the grindylows, after being roughed up a bit by some of the younger, more overeager merpeople down below.

All the students and staff were stunned and the Beauxbatons contingent was devastated. A loud wail went up from them, and many of the girls were in tears. The rest of the students from Hogwarts and Durmstrang were shocked and upset but didn't have the deep level of grief that the Beauxbatons students did. Chaos erupted as everyone tried to stay as far away from the lake as possible while the staff tried to keep everyone calm. Classes were cancelled for a couple of days while Minister Fudge tried to think of ways to avoid an international diplomatic incident over this. The death of two French people on English soil was a bad thing, the fact that it was two students was even worse. Raiden hugged Daphne closer to him, Slytherin façade be damned, and thought that it was a very good thing that he had had that spell on him that made the grindylows leave him alone. Krum looked very shaken as well and looked to his Headmaster, Karkaroff for instruction as to whether they would leave the Tournament or not.

The teachers were conferring rapidly on what to do. Finally all the students were sent to their common rooms with the Prefects in charge while the staff discussed the horrible accident. For a few days there was a kind of organized chaos happening in and around Hogwarts and a memorial was held for Fleur and Gabrielle that the whole school attended.

The Triwizard Tournament would continue as in the past if a death had occurred it was tragic but the other two contestants had continued. In this case, considering that there were now two Hogwarts competitors vs one Durmstrang competitor it wasn't entirely fair but Viktor pointed out that no one had really expected Raiden to last as long as he had so it really was a good competition. The three surviving champions had merely dropped the school divisions and had personally begun to think of it in terms of age, two seventeen-year-olds against one fourteen-year-old. Even this was inherently unfair until Raiden proposed another way of looking at it. This was Cedric vs Viktor and Raiden would just do the best he could in the remaining task. With this being acceptable to all of them, they returned to their schoolwork although with a renewed sense of exactly how dangerous this Tournament really was.

"I mean imagine how dangerous it must have been in the past when there was no age limit," Hermione whispered in Transfiguration one day. Raiden shushed her, and nodded towards Professor McGonagall who was giving the two a stern look, but privately he agreed with his friend. McGonagall threw them another look before getting back to the lesson and they bent their heads back over their work.

The Beauxbatons students left a week later, with no interest, or desire to stay, now that their champion had been killed in the Tournament that was supposed to have been challenging, but not lethal. There wasn't going to be an international incident as the Tournament rules were laid out clearly and Fleur had chosen to put her name forward. It wasn't Hogwarts' fault that she wasn't up to the task of repelling the grindylows, only her own. Durmstrang and Hogwarts were now left in the race for the eternal glory promised to the winner of the Triwizard Tournament but all the champions were uneasy at what the third and final task would bring in terms of new danger.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter Twenty Five: Return of the Dark Lord**

The months in between the second and third tasks were busy ones for the students. Classwork, homework and tests took up most of their time, although everyone was giving the three tournament champions various looks and Raiden heard several comments along the lines of "Which one's going to die next." This didn't bother him overly much, as he had never bothered to pay too much attention to public opinion before. Cedric and Viktor were more bothered by it but didn't let it show for the most part.

Lying on his bed one night after finishing his homework, Raiden was startled when he felt a familiar mental presence knocking on his shields. Checking that no one else was around, he drew his bed curtains shut, put up spells that would give him privacy and then settled back, closing his eyes to better help his concentration before he lowered his shields and let his master into his mind.

_Hello Raiden, how are you?_ was Voldemort's first question.

Raiden sighed and replied, _Busy. We've been flooded with homework since the second task; did you hear that the Beauxbatons contestant was killed?_

_Yes I did. Tragic accident that. Has Crouch talked to you at all?_

_No. I'd rather get through the tasks on my own, Master. Is there something you wanted him to pass on to me?_

Voldemort gave the equivalent of a mental shrug. _Not really. I put him there to keep an eye on you this year, but you seem to be doing well enough on your own. I wanted to talk to you about the third task though._

Raiden became more alert at that and waited patiently for Voldemort to explain what he was thinking. He had learnt years ago that his master would explain himself when he wanted to and questioning him would gain nothing except a painful twinge in his scar.

Voldemort sensed his apprentice's brief flash of impatience though and smirked to himself before beginning the explanation. _The cup will be placed in the centre of the maze. Crouch will take out Diggory and Krum, leaving you free to take the cup. It will be a Portkey and will take you to where we're doing the ritual. Once there, you will be met by another of my Death Eaters, who will tell you what to do for the ritual. Basically all you have to do though is let them take a bit of blood at the point where it is required. After the ritual, I will be reborn, and we can figure out where to go from there. OK?_

_Yes Master. Um, this ritual will make you into essentially an older version of the memory in your diary right?_

_Close enough yes. It will also give me some of your characteristics, but in an older form. It will not make us clones; it will just give us a family resemblance._

_You are aware that it will look suspicious if I disappear and then return to Hogwarts with the Cup but you're reborn?_ Raiden asked.

Voldemort snorted. _Have you forgotten the fact that we're going to duel after the ritual Raiden? You'll return in a condition which should make it obvious to any "Light" people that you were an unwilling participant. Even though you're actually not unwilling._

_True. I'm looking forward to that, Master, it should be fun._

_Yes it will be. Don't be surprised if I toss a few Unforgivables your way, it would look very odd if the Dark Lord didn't attempt to Crucio his nemesis after all._

_Yeah. At least you won't do any permanent damage. Will any other Death Eaters be at the rebirth?_

_No. I will call them afterwards. You will be introduced to them as my apprentice, Lord Raiden. I will make it clear that none of them are allowed to touch you, only I am allowed that privilege. If any should attempt to curse you, curse them back, or report them to me. You will answer to me and me alone._

_What about Lucius and Severus? Lucius is my guardian and Severus is my Head of House. They have to have discipline privileges otherwise it will look fishy._

_Fine. None of the Death Eaters but Lucius and Severus are allowed to touch you. _Voldemort growled, somewhat annoyed that he had to let others have charge of his apprentice, no matter how much he trusted them.

_It makes sense, Master. They are your right and left hand men after all. They will be responsible for my Dark Arts education when you're not available _Raiden said, attempting to get his master to see reason. Voldemort cared about him, he knew that, and he cared about Voldemort, but the older wizard could be very possessive and overprotective at times.

_True. There is one class of spells that I and I alone will teach you however, _Voldemort finally said, seeing the sense in what Raiden had said.

_What?_ Raiden asked, eager to hear what his master would be teaching him.

_Parseltongue spells of course. You and I are the only living parselmouths in the world so it makes sense that I would teach my apprentice that._

_Brilliant. Think of the terror we can inspire in the Death Eaters, having conversations in Parseltongue. Even if we're just discussing the weather it will sound menacing._

_You, my apprentice are evil,_ Voldemort informed Raiden after a moment of shocked silence along the bond.

Raiden merely smirked and replied _You taught me well, Master._

_I did didn't I. You'd better go to sleep, I am well aware of what time it is. I will see you at the end of the Third Task. _

_Goodnight, Master_

_Goodnight, Raiden_

Voldemort closed the link and sat back, thinking. His body, which was only temporary, was tired and he needed sleep as much as his apprentice did. Nagini, his familiar coiled up around the chair in which he sat and hissed soothingly. Voldemort smiled and fell asleep to the sound of the hisses of the large snake.

As the third task approached, Raiden brushed up on the spells he'd learnt in class, and learnt new ones, with the Avengers helping him all the way. They had not had their promised Animagus lesson with Sirius, as the man had been called away for something, and was now too busy to find time during the year. He had promised to get together with them over the summer though, which mollified the students, and allowed them time to get Daphne's animagus name which had finally been decided on.

Daphne's snake animagus form was now known as Krusa which was the root word for crush. Daphne herself had suggested it, as her python was a constrictor and the others had gone along with it. So now, the Avengers member list went as follows

**Name Form Nickname**

Sirius Black Dog Padfoot

Hermione Granger Owl Athena

Daphne Greengrass Python Krusa

Harry Potter (aka Raiden) King Cobra Veneficus

Draco Malfoy Ferret Argentum

Blaise Zabini Alsatian Diablo

Sirius was added as he was their unofficial advisor at the moment. It would become official when the Avengers became a proper part of the Dark Side, as the spies and information gatherers, where Raiden would be their connection to Lord Voldemort, and Sirius would be the person who helped to organize the reports that came in from each person. There were tentative plans to have him move to being an official report organizer for the Death Eaters as well as the Avengers but Sirius had so far refused. He wouldn't take the Dark Mark either, saying that he would have whatever Mark Raiden decided on, as he was an Avenger, not a Death Eater.

Finally, the day of the third task arrived. The task would be taking place during the evening, so it would be dark, and the weather was perfect, clear and the moon was out, offering a certain amount of light. Raiden meditated before going out of the tunnel into the arena, calming himself. He was getting impatient to get it over with, but impatience wouldn't help him here. He resented Crouch in a way; he wanted to beat Viktor and Cedric on his own terms, not because someone got rid of the competition for him.

After a speech by Dumbledore where he told the crowd what to expect, he then gathered the champions round him and told them to be wary, as they could end up finding the Cup but losing themselves in the process. Raiden inwardly snorted, he had no such worries, and he tossed a small smile Cedric's way as they went to their respective starting positions. Raiden would enter first, as he was in first place, followed by Viktor, then Cedric. As Raiden moved off down the path, he heard a rustling noise and looked back, swallowing a gasp as the hedge moved together to block his view of the crowd. Shaking his head, Raiden quelled his nervousness, and continued forward.

"Point me" he whispered, focusing on the Triwizard Cup. His wand spun round and round before settling on a north westerly direction. Raiden nodded and set off in the direction indicated by the wand. He wondered how his two rivals were doing but then decided to focus only on the cup.

As he walked forward, a wind sprang up round him and the rustling he heard behind him got louder. Looking over his shoulder, Raiden swore and began to run; he didn't fancy being crushed by a large living hedge after all. He dived through a gap and landed on his side, safe for the moment.

As he got up, he assessed himself for any injuries, finding only bruises, which were healed with a quick application of wandless healing magic. He did the Point Me spell again and found that he was pretty much on a straight course to the cup. Grinning, he headed towards his ride out of there.

Rounding a corner, Raiden ducked as a spell shot overhead. Bringing his wand up he saw that it was Viktor. The glazed look in his eyes betrayed the fact that he was under the Imperius curse. Annoyed, Raiden drew his wand and took a dueling stance.

"Stupefy" he hissed out. His anger fuelled the spell; making it strong enough to smash through Viktor's shield spell and knock him out. As he stepped over the Durmstrang champion, Raiden shook his head and hissed "Incarcerous" which bound Viktor from head to toe in steel cored rope.

His wand started to vibrate then which told him that the Cup was very close. He turned left at the next corner and saw Cedric coming towards him. They looked down the path between them and saw the cup at the end. They looked at each other and then they burst into a run.

Raiden knew he wouldn't win in a fair race; Cedric's legs were longer, so he cheated. Keeping his wand pointed at the older boy he sent out a silent series of spells which slowed Cedric down allowing Raiden to take the lead. He was annoyed that his stunning spell missed though. He was almost at the cup when Cedric tackled him. Before he could free himself, Cedric shouted "Accio!" at the cup.

The cup flew towards them, and Raiden caught it at the same time as Cedric. With a sickening jerk, both of them were flying forward. Raiden closed his eyes, and thought, "This definitely wasn't in the script."

They landed in a heap on the ground and Raiden quickly stunned and bound Cedric, hoping that his memory could be adjusted so he wouldn't remember this. The Dark Apprentice winced when the thought that Voldemort might very well decide to kill Cedric anyway, just to make sure that he couldn't tell anyone occurred to him. Sighing, he pushed Cedric off of him, taking Cedric's wand for safekeeping. He didn't need Cedric summoning the portkey to escape.

Looking round, Raiden turned when he heard a voice behind him say, "Lord Raiden?"

"Yes," Raiden replied, looking at the Death Eater that had come to meet him.

The older wizard held out his hand. "Lord Raiden, I am Rabastan Lestrange, I'm the one that will help in the rebirth ceremony this evening. If you'll follow me, I will take you to where we'll be conducting it."

Raiden nodded and followed Rabastan to an old manor which the Death Eater informed him was Riddle Manor. Entering the meeting hall, Raiden saw a potion bubbling nearby, and a book on the table beside it. Rabastan turned to his companion, silently wondering at the fact that this boy was his Lord's apprentice. He had noticed Raiden's companion and now ventured a question, hoping that he wouldn't be hurt for it, although he thought it unlikely, as to him, Raiden appeared around fourteen or fifteen, and too young to properly cast unforgivables.

"What will you do with your companion?"

Raiden looked at his guide and smirked although somewhat nervously. "Not sure. It wasn't planned, I assure you. I was supposed to arrive alone but Cedric accioed the cup and both of us touched it. He won't be going anywhere for the near future anyway so shall we get on with it. I'm looking forward to having my master back again, and meeting him in the flesh for the first time I can remember, as it were."

Rabastan smirked. "Yes, and so are all the other Death Eaters. Very well. If you'll just stand over here."

Raiden stood where indicated, in the centre of a large circle of runes. Rabastan picked up a bundle from the chair outside the circle which Raiden only just noticed. With a shudder, Raiden watched as his master's temporary body was dropped into the bubbling liquid. He hoped that Voldemort didn't drown in there.

Rabastan stood inside the circle with Raiden, holding the book and chanting a long string of words in Latin. As he chanted, the runes began to glow, and the potion bubbled furiously. Finally Rabastan turned to Raiden and withdrew a silver knife.

Silently he indicated that Raiden should hold out his left arm. When Raiden did so, Rabastan made a long, shallow cut on the inner forearm, where the Dark Mark was located on the Death Eaters coincidentally. Taking the now bloody knife, the Death Eater let five drops fall into the cauldron and finished the chant.

The runes were now glowing so brightly that both Death Eater and Dark Apprentice had to close their eyes to avoid being blinded. Raiden felt a sharp tug on the mental bond he shared with his master, and then there was a flash of light followed by darkness.

Cautiously, Raiden opened his eyes and gasped. Standing in front of him, dressed in deep black robes stood a fifty to sixty something year old Voldemort, although he looked like Tom Riddle. He was tall, with black hair, and piercing dark blue/green eyes. The family resemblance was subtle, but clear if you knew what to look for, although no one would mistake him for an older version of Harry Potter. He had just regained his old body, and the physical similarity to Harry Potter would be passed off as a coincidence.

Voldemort looked around, before taking a short walk, getting used to his new body. Turning, he saw Rabastan and Raiden, both of whom instinctively dropped to one knee.

"My Lord", "Master" they murmured in unison. Rabastan mutely held out Voldemort's wand, and the Dark Lord took it, smiling as he felt magic rush through him once more. Seeing that Raiden and Rabastan were both still kneeling, he rolled his eyes.

"Get up you two. Have you been formally introduced yet?" At head shakes he continued, "Raiden, meet Rabastan Lestrange, one of my strategists. He is third in command if you will, just under Lucius and Severus in the Death Eater hierarchy. Rabastan, meet Raiden, my apprentice. He has been my apprentice since he was eight years old."

Rabastan nodded, looking at Raiden with interest. Taking a look round the room, Voldemort noticed Cedric, who had started to stir and fight the bindings that Raiden had placed on him. Raising an eyebrow, Voldemort turned back to his apprentice.

"I was under the impression that you were supposed to come alone, Raiden, and yet you've brought an uninvited guest. May I ask why?"

Raiden shrugged and repeated his story of how Cedric came to be with him. Voldemort looked at Cedric thoughtfully. "You know that duel we had planned Raiden. I believe it would be good for you to have a warm up first, so why don't you duel your classmate here. It would be good for me to see where you are in terms of spell knowledge and dueling capability."

Raiden snorted. "Yeah and you just want me tired out so you don't have to fight as hard later right, Master?"

Rabastan winced; if any Death Eater had spoken to Voldemort like that they would have been Crucioed severely, if not outright killed. However, he realized that Raiden enjoyed a slightly more privileged place than the average Death Eater, evidenced by the fact that Voldemort merely raised an eyebrow and replied, "Not true. Remember the terms of the duel, Raiden, or have you forgotten so soon?"

Raiden smirked. "Not at all. Shall we get Cedric up then, I have his wand with me."

Voldemort nodded and gestured for Raiden to bring Cedric to the centre of the room, where Rabastan hastily marked out a dueling arena. Before the duel could begin, Raiden unbound Cedric and gave him back his wand.

"Here you go Cedric, just a friendly little duel right," he smiled.

Cedric glared at him and spat back, "Traitor. How could you join with him?"

Raiden shook his head and backed away to his side of the small arena. Voldemort then leaned forward and summoned Raiden's wand to him. As the two boys stared at him in shock, Voldemort leaned back in his chair and smirked.

"I want you to display your wandless skills, Raiden. You're already very good with a wand, now I want to see whether your wandless skills have suffered through the years."

Raiden shrugged and turned back to Cedric, standing in a relaxed stance, ready to move at an instant's notice. Cedric aimed his wand at him and waited. When the signal to start came he launched the first curse.

"Diffindo!" he snarled, aiming for Raiden's throat. In his mind, Harry had betrayed them and deserved to die. He wasn't expecting Raiden to dodge it, nor for the younger boy to roll towards him and shoot a wandless, silent Stupefy at him.

Cedric blocked it, and had to dodge another one which came almost immediately. Raiden was enjoying himself as he sent off curses and hexes and jinxes in a random variety.

"Tarantallegra, Stupefy, Incarcerous, Avis, Diffindo" he sent, some vocalized, some not, and watched Cedric struggle to keep up. Seeing that he wasn't going to win, as his opponent was far more skilled than his age suggested, and having been dropped to the ground by several kicks and leg sweeps already, Cedric decided to try escaping. Dumbledore needed to know that Harry had betrayed them.

With that in mind, Cedric spun and yelled, "ACCIO CUP!" aiming at the Triwizard cup which was sitting by Voldemort's chair, as Raiden had levitated it as well as Cedric up to Riddle Manor when he first arrived. Seeing Cedric's plan, Raiden hit the cup, and unfortunately his master as well, with a banishing charm, sending both Voldemort and the cup crashing into the wall behind them. Voldemort ended up sitting in his overturned chair, with the cup on his lap, and a stunned goldfish look on his face which had Rabastan working overtime to hide the mirth that bubbled up inside him.

Spinning to face his opponent, Raiden yelled the first spell that came to mind.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

The deadly curse leapt out of his hand, shocking everyone present. At fourteen years of age, and without a wand, Raiden shouldn't have been able to get more than a flash from that curse if even that. Yet, the spell had leapt from his palm and struck Cedric in the chest. The seventh year flew backwards a short distance and lay still, not breathing.

Rabastan looked at Raiden with wide eyes, almost gaping in his shock before hurrying over to Cedric and checking him. Looking back, he wondered whether Raiden was in trouble, as Voldemort did not look very happy with him at all.

"Is he dead?" Voldemort queried.

Rabastan shook his head. "Not quite, my Lord. Drowning effect. Should I finish him off?"

Voldemort shook his head. "No, Rabastan." He looked at Raiden and his voice dropped to a quiet whisper that had Rabastan shivering. No one who was addressed in that tone of voice left Voldemort's presence without being in a severe amount of pain.

"Raiden, follow me," was all Voldemort said but Raiden swallowed, only now remembering his master's firm order that he not use any Unforgivables until he'd reached his magical maturity, which would be around the age of sixteen. Traditionally, the last year of Hogwarts was where the seventh year students had come into their full power and abilities, and were now learning to control them before being released into the wizarding world as adult witches and wizards.

Voldemort and Raiden walked over to Cedric, who was lying on his back, his eyes still holding a look of frozen shock. Raiden swallowed again, it didn't matter that he was on the Dark Side; he didn't like the killing curse and having used it without thinking like that left a nasty taste in his mouth. Voldemort silently offered him his own wand, and Raiden took the thirteen and a half inch yew wand with confusion.

"We can't have Harry Potter's wand performing a killing curse, and I assure you that when you arrive back at Hogwarts with a body, that's the first thing they'll do, check your wand with Priori Incantatem. Our wands are brothers; mine will work just as well."

"What do you want me to do, Master?" Raiden asked, although he already knew what Voldemort wanted.

This was confirmed when Voldemort said, "You started it, you will finish it. Kill him."

"I, I don't think I have enough energy to do it, Master" Raiden murmured quietly, not wanting to admit weakness in front of Rabastan but knowing that he wouldn't be able to complete the task without help.

Voldemort sighed, before opening the bond and feeding energy to Raiden through the link. Using that energy boost, Raiden pointed his master's wand at Cedric and cast the spell again.

When the green light had faded, Cedric was dead, and Raiden was now contemplating the amount of trouble he was in for what he'd done. Rabastan was quietly making himself as unnoticed as possible, he had a feeling that the young apprentice who he'd started to like, despite their acquaintanceship being only an hour or so old, was about to get his first taste of the Cruciatus. He was right.

"Rabastan, please leave. Speak of this to no one; I will call a meeting when I am ready to introduce my apprentice to them. For now, leave."

Rabastan bowed and left. As he did he could have sworn he heard Voldemort murmur "I need to teach my apprentice a lesson." Shaking off the feeling, he apparated home, and spent the rest of the evening drinking firewhiskey.

Raiden unconsciously stepped backwards as Voldemort reclaimed his wand. Sitting down in his chair Voldemort glared at him and then hissed, "Kneel."

Raiden knelt obediently, feeling sick. Voldemort hadn't forced him to be subservient like this for a long time, never to be honest. Raiden had always done it out of respect of course, but Voldemort had seemed to prefer that Raiden not engage in the bowing and scraping that the Death Eaters had done in the past and would do again. As his future equal, Raiden was not on the Death Eater level, he was on a level between them and Voldemort.

"What did I tell you before about using the Unforgivables, Raiden?" Voldemort's voice was deceptively soft, but his anger was clear.

Raiden shivered inwardly and answered, "You told me not to use them until I'd reached my magical maturity, Master."

Voldemort nodded. "I did. And what do you call a Killing Curse?"

Raiden shook slightly as he answered, "An Unforgivable." He raised his eyes to those of his master and almost, _almost _wet himself. Gone was the patient, if slightly temperamental and demanding teacher he had known, and in his place was the Dark Lord that everyone, except Dumbledore feared. He had never seen Voldemort so angry, so menacing before, not even in his second year, when he'd gone down to the Chamber of Secrets. Inwardly sighing, he resolved to accept whatever punishment his master chose to dish out, and hopefully accept it with a modicum of dignity.

"You disobeyed me, Raiden" was Voldemort's next statement, to which Raiden could only nod in agreement. Voldemort huffed and enquired, "Exactly why did you choose to do so?"

Raiden was very careful here, he didn't want to seem flippant about it, as he was in serious trouble and didn't want to worsen it. "Um, I just said the first spell that came to mind, Master, it wasn't a conscious choice. I wasn't expecting it to work."

Voldemort nodded, he certainly knew of situations where a spell could come to mind automatically which wasn't appropriate for the situation, and he'd been as shocked as everyone else when it worked. It shouldn't have been possible.

'Then again, he did survive a killing curse, I shouldn't be surprised that it worked' he thought to himself before fixing a dark glare on his apprentice once again. He was mildly impressed that Raiden wasn't cowering on the floor, hadn't wet himself, or done anything else to betray the fact that he was afraid. Voldemort could sense through their bond that Raiden was very afraid right now, although the Dark Lord was also impressed at the fact that Raiden wasn't afraid of _him _but rather of what he was going to do.

Voldemort was composing his next verbal salvo when he noticed that Nagini had come in at some point and was now coiling round Raiden in the same manner that she curled round Voldemort when she wanted to soothe him. The snake fixed her human with as much of a glare as snakes can manage and hissed

_Don't be so hard on him, Tom, he didn't mean to disobey._

_Stay out of this, if you want you can comfort him after I'm finished _Voldemort hissed back, before turning his attention back to Raiden, who was looking at Nagini with some measure of shock. He'd assumed that the large snake would be on Voldemort's side but apparently not.

"You may be above the Death Eaters but you are not yet my equal, Raiden. You still have a lot to learn before you get to my level. I will give you more leeway than I will the Death Eaters but I will not tolerate disobedience from you any more than I will from them. You remember the Chamber of Secrets incident?"

Raiden nodded and braced himself for a massive headache. He was therefore unprepared for when Voldemort pointed his wand at him and whispered, "Crucio!"

Pain was all he knew for the next thirty seconds as the curse was held. Hearing about it, seeing it performed on spiders, and being threatened with it, was nothing compared to actually being under it. Raiden had thought that having Voldemort manipulate his scar to give him a painful headache was bad but now he knew that this was the punishment that he would be the most eager to avoid in the future.

After half a minute, Voldemort broke the curse, mindful of the fact that Raiden was only fourteen and was not used to the Cruciatus curse the way the Death Eaters were. He was definitely impressed, and even felt a small stirring of pride at the way that Raiden who had been rolling on the floor while under the curse, pulled himself back to his kneeling position afterwards, even though it was slower and the pain that he was in was obvious. Lifting his wand again, after allowing a small recovery time, Voldemort cast the curse again.

This time Raiden couldn't hold in the pained yelp as the curse hit him for the second time. The first time he had managed, through sheer willpower, to hold in the whimpers and moans but this time he couldn't. He only hoped that his master would hold to what he'd done before, that being one sound of pain from Raiden and the punishment stopped. Apparently he did, as after another thirty second burst, Voldemort tucked his wand back up his sleeve and regarded his shaking apprentice with something approaching remorse.

All he said though was, "Do not disobey me again, Raiden, I would hate to have to have a repeat of this performance."

Raiden nodded shakily and replied, "I will do my best, Master. Um, are we going to have our duel?"

Voldemort shook his head. "No. Not now, you're in no condition to duel and I'd rather duel you when you're in top condition. Go back to Hogwarts, the cut on your arm from the ritual, and your current state should be enough to convince people that you were an innocent, unwilling participant in my rebirth and the other boy an unfortunate bystander. Only you and I, and Rabastan will know the truth, and if you choose to inform Severus and Lucius you may."

Thinking for a moment, Voldemort added, "You may tell people of my return if you wish, it is highly unlikely that they will believe you, which is what we want." Eyeing Raiden again, Voldemort rose and held out a hand to Raiden, who took it gratefully, and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet. Voldemort steadied him until he could walk, and then Raiden went over to Cedric. Taking hold of Cedric's shoulder, and gripping his wand with the same hand, he summoned the cup, and vanished from Riddle Manor, arriving back in the middle of the stadium like entrance to the maze.

As people surrounded him, and loud hysterics started over Cedric's death, Raiden locked eyes with Dumbledore, and said two words.

"Voldemort's back."

**Author Note**

Well now we know the names for all the current Avengers. Thank you very much to **Kin Pandun** for Daphne's Avenger name. Hopefully you all liked the chapter. I know I liked writing it. Next chapter we see the aftermath of the Tournament, and the first Death Eater meeting, as well as Voldemort and Raiden's duel.

May the Force be with you

Padawan Lynne


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter Twenty Six: Aftermath and the Start of the Holidays**

Raiden was a mess. He had been taken up to Dumbledore's office, followed closely by Severus, Lucius and Sirius where he was now being subjected to an interrogation, although a gentle one.

"What happened at the end of the task Harry?" Dumbledore asked, probing Raiden's mind as he did so. He had used Legilemency on Harry a number of times over the years but found no cause for concern. He liked Harry despite the boy being a Slytherin, and wanted to help him.

Raiden took a breath, and began in a shaky voice, the enormity of what had happened catching up with him all at once. Keeping his eyes focused on the floor, he said, "Cedric and I touched the cup at the same time, it was a Portkey, it took us to a graveyard. V, Voldemort was reborn, in a ceremony using his father's bone, flesh of a servant and blood of the enemy, which was me. The Death Eater, I didn't recognize him, cut my arm and used my blood near the end of the ritual. Cedric was tied up, he couldn't move."

When Raiden paused to gather his thoughts Dumbledore gently prodded him by saying, "What next?"

Raiden thought for a few minutes, he had told Dumbledore the ritual that would have been used if he really was Voldemort's enemy. Finally he continued, "Voldemort wanted Cedric and me to duel. He gave me my wand back, and Cedric and I dueled. Then Cedric tried summoning the cup to escape, but Voldemort interfered. He, he killed Cedric."

Shock and sympathy played across Dumbledore's face, the others kept their expressions neutral, they knew that Raiden was most probably stretching and twisting the truth here. Finally Raiden finished with, "When I protested, he Crucioed me. Twice. Then I managed to get over to Cedric and summoned the cup. We landed back at the maze entrance."

Dumbledore nodded. "It's OK, Harry, everything's going to be OK now. Go to the hospital wing and get Madam Pomfrey to give you some anti Cruciatus potion and then get some sleep. It wasn't your fault that this happened."

Raiden nodded, but inwardly he was shaking. He knew that it was his fault, and he hated it. Getting up, he sensed Sirius, Lucius and Severus falling in around him and they led him back to the Slytherin common room. They took over the fourth year boys' dormitory, kicking the Avengers out so they could have a private talk with Raiden.

"OK what really happened, Harry?" Sirius asked.

Raiden sighed. "The ritual I told Dumbledore was wrong of course, but the bit about Cedric and me dueling, was correct. The only part of that that was wrong was the part with me having my wand. I didn't have my wand when Cedric and I dueled. The part about who killed Cedric was wrong too."

"But if Voldemort didn't kill him, who did? It's not as if you did, you're too young and you didn't have your wand," Lucius said reasonably. All three men stiffened in shock when Raiden turned dull eyes towards them.

"Sweet Merlin!" Sirius breathed, as the fact hit him that his godson had somehow managed to kill someone while not having his wand.

Raiden shook his head and said, "I used Avada Kedavra, it hit Cedric, it didn't entirely work, it produced a drowning effect but Voldemort wanted him fully dead. He handed me his wand and told me to finish it, lending me energy to do it."

Not being able to stand it anymore, Raiden broke down, and Sirius was quick to gather him into a hug. The three older wizards stared at each other over top of Raiden's head, each amazed at the power contained within their young companion, and each also wondering how to help him cope with the fact that he'd killed someone. The first time was always the hardest but for Raiden it was doubly so because he truly didn't like killing, despite him being Voldemort's apprentice.

Raiden pulled away from Sirius and whispered, "What am I going to do? I killed him, he didn't have to die, he could have lived. How do I cope with this?"

"I don't know, Harry" Lucius said carefully. "I do know that if you hadn't obeyed our Lord and killed Diggory then either our Lord or the other Death Eater would have done. You would then have been punished for disobedience."

Raiden gave a mirthless chuckle. "I already was, Lucius. I wasn't supposed to use the Unforgivables until I'd undergone my magical maturity in another two years, it was just the first spell that came to mind and it shouldn't have worked. Our Master said to me that since I'd started it I could finish it. He then handed me his wand and told me to kill Cedric."

Sirius pulled Raiden towards him again, wanting to try and comfort him, even though he knew that there wasn't much he could do to help. Severus silently rose and retrieved his Pensieve from his office, before placing it in front of the young wizard.

"Would you mind showing us what happened?" he said quietly.

Raiden looked at the Pensieve and then at his Head of House with a puzzled expression. "OK but I don't know how" he answered.

"Just concentrate on the memory of what happened and I'll draw it out of your mind and put it in the Pensieve. Then we can view it," Severus said after a moment of silence. Raiden nodded and obediently concentrated on the memory, from the time when Cedric summoned the cup in the maze, to when Raiden summoned the cup to get back to Hogwarts. A long silvery strand dropped into the bowl and after telling Raiden to not go anywhere, Severus, Lucius and Sirius entered the Pensieve.

About fifteen minutes later they emerged and stared at Raiden. All were shocked at the display of wandless magic, even though they knew that he was capable of it. They couldn't quite believe the fact that the killing curse had worked, and they were all sympathetic about the punishment that Raiden had received, even though they knew that he probably deserved it. Lucius and Sirius in particular wanted to go and strongly complain about Voldemort Crucioing Raiden but knew that they couldn't. They settled for hugging him tightly instead until Raiden complained about the lack of air.

The memorial service held for Cedric was a somber affair. The Avengers sat together, all wondering about the level of grief that Raiden was displaying. Raiden hadn't told them what had happened yet and wouldn't until the holidays. After the service, Raiden escaped to the dormitory and lay down on his bed, closing his curtains, before falling asleep, his mind overwhelmed by nightmares of what had happened.

A week later it was the end of school and Raiden still looked dreadful. He had barely slept since the end of the Tournament, struggling to reconcile the fact that he'd killed Cedric with his strong aversion to killing without it being necessary. He hadn't tried to talk to Voldemort about it, he was wary of approaching his master until he knew whether Voldemort had calmed down or not. He had come to the conclusion that he needed to talk to Lucius but he couldn't do that until the next day.

The rest of the Avengers were worried about him but he'd told them that he'd explain when he'd sorted the issues out. Settling for that, they'd merely offered as much support as he'd accept, which was quite a lot. Although he was the Dark Apprentice, and had cultivated the image of a cold hearted Slytherin, he was only fourteen and he had very defined views on things like killing another person without good cause. He had never been comfortable with senseless murder and mayhem, nor was he comfortable with the blood purity issue. That was why he'd come up with his idea for a magical world where a wizard or witch's magical strength counted more than how pure their blood was, an idea which Voldemort had adopted once Raiden had explained the benefits of it to him.

Now though, he had to accept the fact that he'd done exactly what other Death Eaters had done in the First War, killed an innocent person on command. This did not sit well with him and nightmares were the result. Shaking his head, Raiden got up and dressed, preparing for the train ride back to King's Cross, thinking that he would have to talk to Voldemort at some point, where he would ask the Dark Lord whether killing him was really necessary, when a memory charm would have done just as well.

"Hey, Harry you ready to go?" Draco asked, popping his head round the door. Raiden looked up and nodded, forcing a smile on his face. This became more genuine as he locked his emotions away behind Occlumency shields for dealing with later. As he and Draco walked up to the Great Hall for the last meal of the year, they chatted about the end of year exams, which Raiden had been exempt from as a Champion, but Draco had had to go through. After listening to his friend moan about Transfiguration for fifteen minutes Raiden rolled his eyes and muttered, "Yes yes Dray, McGonagall's a mean, heartless cat that lives to make terrible exams, I get the point. For Merlin's sake, start talking about an exam you _did_ like. How was Potions?"

Draco lit up and started discussing the Potions exam, while Raiden smothered a smile as they'd reached the Great Hall. Draco thankfully remembered where they were and toned down the enthusiasm a bit, putting on his cool, collected Slytherin mask until they were on the train. Thankful for the break in exam post mortems Raiden ate breakfast mechanically, before heading for the train with the rest of the students.

"So will you tell us now, Harry?" Daphne muttered, flopping down in their compartment on the train. Blaise rolled his eyes, as did Hermione and Draco. Raiden smirked and replied, "No. I have to talk to Lucius and my Master first, and then I promise I'll tell you."

Daphne growled and Blaise interjected with a diplomatic "Can you tell us anything about what it's about though? Not specifics, just generalities?"

Raiden sighed. "Alright. The third task ended with the rebirth of my Master, and things were going well. Then something happened which has forced me to examine my values about things and I'm confused and conflicted. I need to resolve that conflict before I can properly explain this. Please guys, no more questions."

"OK, Harry" they agreed and the topic was dropped. When the train reached King's Cross, they got out and went with their respective parents or guardians. Draco and Harry were staying with Sirius at Grimmauld Place for the first part of the holidays, as agreed upon with Lucius and Narcissa during the term. Apparently the portrait of Sirius' mother, who had been derogatory towards her eldest son ever since he renounced the Dark Side when he was young, had changed her tune when Sirius told her what was going on, after spelling her to secrecy of course. He had also told the Dark Lord that Dumbledore was reactivating the Order of the Phoenix, but hadn't allowed them to use his house as a meeting place. This had pleased Voldemort, and he had allowed Sirius to be his official spy inside the Order of the Fried Turkey as he referred to it.

"Hey guys, ready to go home?" Sirius asked, grinning at them. Draco smirked back, while Raiden merely nodded. Sirius led the way to his car, happy to have the two staying with him but worried about Raiden's state of mind. He could see clearly that Raiden still hadn't properly dealt with the events at the end of the term but was closer to having done so.

'He needs to talk with Voldemort as soon as possible' Sirius thought. He entertained the notion of inviting the Dark Lord over for dinner; he wouldn't raise any eyebrows in his current appearance. Pleased with this plan, he guided the two students to the car, planning to send his owl, Nightwing to the Dark Lord as soon as they got home.

When they reached Grimmauld Place, Sirius sent Draco and Raiden upstairs, telling them to choose their own rooms. Raiden chose the one next to Sirius' while Draco chose one further down the hall. While they were getting settled, Sirius sat down at the kitchen table and wrote a quick note.

_Emperor_

_Veneficus requires your presence for a meeting as soon as possible regarding distress caused by recent events. Would dinner on Tuesday suffice? Floo address is Padfoot's Den. _

_Grim_

Nightwing took the note and leapt out the window just as Raiden came walking in. The three discussed the year in general, staying away from the painful end of it. They mainly discussed various ideas for moving the Dark Side's plans forward, and gathering more followers. Raiden loosened up a bit more as prank ideas and plans for animagus training helped to banish the thoughts of the death that he was responsible for.

Dinner was pizza, as none of them felt like cooking that night, and then several games of Exploding Snap preceded the eventual retirement to bed. As he was going to sleep, Sirius heard Nightwing tap at the window. Unrolling the parchment the bird carried, he smiled.

_Grim_

_Prepare for my arrival on Tuesday five pm. Veneficus will be returned to normal by the end of the visit._

_Emperor_

The notes might seem odd to anyone reading them that didn't understand the codes but to those that did, they were perfectly comprehensible. They had given Voldemort the nickname of Emperor as he was the leader of the Dark Side, and had provided him with a list of the Avenger's nicknames. Voldemort now knew that Raiden needed his help and was coming to dinner on Tuesday to hopefully fix things. Sirius' nickname had been changed to Grim so that anyone who knew the Marauders wouldn't recognize who was being talked about.

On Tuesday, Raiden and Draco came hurtling down the stairs for dinner, having spent the day working on their homework, and had now got everything at least started, and at best finished. They had finished History of Magic, and had got halfway through their Ancient Runes and Arithmancy homework, and had written one paragraph each for Transfiguration, Potions, Astronomy and Herbology. They froze when they saw who was sitting at the kitchen table.

Sirius rose and said, "Hi guys. What's wrong?"

Draco gulped and said, "That's, that's" before giving up on speaking and merely bowed to Voldemort who had risen with Sirius. Raiden contented himself with a brief nod and a "Hello."

Sirius and Voldemort exchanged a look before Sirius pulled Raiden and Draco forward to the table, sitting them down. No further words were exchanged before the meal was finished, when Voldemort looked at Raiden and said "I'd like a private word, Raiden."

Raiden shrugged and followed Voldemort into the sitting room off the main lounge. He looked round, distinctly uneasy at being alone with his master, which did not go unnoticed by Voldemort. The Dark Lord sighed and sat down, gesturing for Raiden to do the same. Once the fourteen year old had done so, silence fell.

Voldemort broke it by saying, "You look like hell, Raiden. Have you been sleeping?"

Raiden shook his head. "No, Master. I can't stop seeing Cedric's face. I have nightmares about what happened. I can't have Dreamless Sleep potion too often for fear of becoming addicted."

Voldemort frowned. "Why are you having nightmares? It was a simple thing, you'd already halfway done it, all you did was finish what you started."

Raiden stared at Voldemort in disbelief. "Have you forgotten our revised goals Master? More to the point, have you forgotten that I don't like killing? I hated what I did and hearing you being so casual about it hurts!"

Voldemort scowled. "I was under the impression that you understood that some killing would be necessary, Raiden. The current administration will not go quietly, and the traditionalists will hate the ideas that we're trying to introduce. Plus there are the more fanatical Death Eaters to deal with too."

Raiden shrugged. "I don't care how you deal with the Death Eaters, Master, but why can't you understand what I feel about what happened to Cedric? He didn't have to die."

Voldemort raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Why not may I ask?"

Raiden scowled and hissed out, "Ever hear of memory charms, Master? You could have memory charmed him, no one would have been able to break it, short of torturing him into insanity and we both know the Light side doesn't have the stomach for that kind of thing."

"Memory charm him? Exactly how do you think memory charms work, Raiden?" Voldemort asked. He was not unsympathetic to Raiden's situation, he knew that his apprentice had more morals than he did, but he also thought that those morals were getting in the way more and more as Raiden grew older. He would have to find a way to work things so that Raiden wasn't asked to kill in cold blood, he was almost sure that he would lose his apprentice if he did.

Raiden looked at Voldemort before replying, "We haven't covered them yet, we do them in sixth year I think, but I believe that they work by getting rid of the information, they erase it so it can't be found again."

Voldemort shook his head. "No. What you're thinking of is how it works with Muggles. They don't have the mental abilities to know when they've been obliviated so the information is essentially lost to them forever. It is different with witches and wizards, and other magical beings. Obliviating a witch or wizard leaves clear signs, even days after the event, and the information isn't obliterated completely, what the charm does is cover it up so the subject doesn't remember that they know the information. If I had Obliviated Diggory, and then the two of you had gone back to Hogwarts, Dumbledore would have known that something was wrong, and he would have gone to the Ministry. I'm powerful yes, but a team of Obliviators, plus Dumbledore might have been able to reverse the charm. If that had happened, you would be in Azkaban right now. I couldn't have that so when you decided to go against orders and tried to kill Diggory for me, I took advantage of it and gave you your first lesson in casting the Unforgivables."

A small silence fell again, before Voldemort continued, "Do you know why everyone was so shocked at what happened?" Raiden shook his head so Voldemort continued, "It is almost impossible to "accidentally" cast an Unforgivable. The reason the Unforgivables are called such is because they, more than any other spells, need intent to work. You have to _want_ to control someone, or hurt them, or kill them. You might not have been thinking specifically of killing Cedric, but you must have had some thoughts about stopping him, otherwise the spell would have fizzled out. Even with that, the amount of power you have must be phenomenal. No other fourteen year old would have been able to cast an Unforgivable on another human being with no prior training."

"Prior training?" Raiden asked, puzzled.

Voldemort nodded. "When learning the Unforgivables, you start with the Imperius curse, and start small, with spiders, before progressing to mice, cats, dogs, and finally humans. Then you repeat the process with the Cruciatus and finally the Killing Curse. This is so you can build up your strength and power so you're not drained like you were when you killed Diggory."

Raiden nodded. He was feeling somewhat better about what had happened, even though he still wished that Cedric hadn't have died. He understood that Cedric would have died either way; it wasn't his fault that Voldemort had ordered him to kill his fellow Champion. He was caught in between a rock and a hard place with no way out but to do as he was told. In order to thoroughly cement that thought in his mind he asked, "What would have happened if I had refused to kill him?"

Voldemort looked at him before answering coolly, "I would have done so, and then you would have been punished in front of Rabastan, Lucius, Severus and Sirius. After I was done, I would have invited them to have a go as well."

Raiden shivered inwardly, and then said, "OK, I think it's a good thing that I followed orders then."

Voldemort nodded before replying, "Yes it is. I won't ask you to do that very often Raiden, not at all if I can help it. You have to understand though that your age will not protect you for long. Once you come of age you will find yourself needing to prove yourself to them. Many want to be in the Inner Circle, and those in the Inner Circle will want to know if you're powerful enough to hold your position as my apprentice. You may find yourself having to Crucio a few of them in order to show that you're serious, and if they continue attacking after that, then you may have to kill them. Don't be afraid to show your power, they will respect you if they know that you're more powerful than they are."

Raiden nodded. "Alright. I do have a few more years yet though don't I?"

Voldemort nodded. "Yes. No Death Eater will touch you, apart from Lucius and Severus and I'm considering adding Rabastan to that group as well, as those that do will spend the rest of whatever meeting we're having screaming in pain."

Now Raiden smirked, his normal emotional state restored by the discussion he'd just had. He knew that what had happened was tragic but he understood his master's reasoning, especially the explanation about memory charms. He still wished that Voldemort had been the one to kill Cedric but he couldn't change things so he stopped worrying about it.

When he and Voldemort emerged from the sitting room they found Lucius and Narcissa sitting on the couch, watching Draco and Sirius play Exploding Snap with hidden amusement. They bowed to Voldemort, who nodded back, and looked at Raiden with concern.

"I'm OK now," Raiden said quietly, seeing that all eyes were on him. "Our Master here explained some things that I didn't know, which has helped to dissolve the issues I had. Everything's fine."

"Glad to hear it, Raiden," Lucius said, using Harry's Dark Side name for the first time as they were in the company of only Dark Side members. Raiden nodded to him and then looked startled when Voldemort handed him a parcel which he'd unshrunk after taking it from a pocket in his robe. Draco received a similar package.

"Open them," Voldemort said when the two merely stared at him. Both boys looked at each other and then held a competition as to who could open their parcel fastest. Raiden won though narrowly.

The parcels contained a deep black robe, with an animal embroidered on the back, and a mask. Draco's mask was silver, Raiden's was gold. The animals were their animagus forms, and they were embroidered in green.

"Thank you my Lord," they said.

Voldemort shrugged. "I'll give you packages to give to Miss Greengrass, Miss Granger and Mr Zabini. I will be introducing Raiden at the first meeting this summer but you all will be introduced at a gathering in the future, probably when you all graduate. Raiden will have to be introduced as he is my apprentice, and the robes are charmed to grow with you, and always be the perfect size so you don't have to worry about outgrowing them. The masks are summon-proof so don't go losing them, you won't be able to accio them from wherever you put them."

Raiden and Draco exchanged another glance before disappearing into the sitting room. When they emerged, Sirius and the Malfoys had to hold in a gasp. The two stood there, the hoods of their robes up, and the faceless gold and silver masks hiding their identities. As one the two Avengers knelt before Voldemort for a minute before rising and standing facing the other three adults. Then they pulled off the masks, and threw the hoods back, revealing their faces again.

"That was wicked!" Raiden said with a grin. Draco nodded in full agreement. Voldemort took his leave shortly after that, but not before telling Sirius that he expected the Avengers to have made some progress on their Animagus forms by the time of the first meeting. He wanted Raiden at least to show progress, and Sirius promised to set up the lessons like he had planned earlier in the year.

Draco and Raiden went back to Malfoy Manor shortly afterwards, both falling asleep sometime in the early morning hours with large grins on their faces. If Lucius and Narcissa noticed that their new masks were under their pillows they chose not to comment on it and instead left the two alone to dream of wizarding world reconstruction and what the future would be like under the rule of Lord Voldemort.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter Twenty Seven: The First Meeting and the Start of School**

Raiden was pacing round nervously in meeting hall of Voldemort's home. Riddle Manor remained a crumbling ruin on the outside but inside it had been fixed up to be the Dark Lord's main operational base. The meeting hall was one of the largest rooms in the manor and at the moment it contained two people, Raiden, and Voldemort. The older wizard looked at his apprentice with amusement and hissed, _Calm yourself Raiden, they will not harm you. No one will know who you are except for Lucius, Severus, Sirius, Rabastan and myself. You will be hooded and masked, so your face will not be able to be seen. Just relax._

Raiden threw his master a dirty look and hissed back _That's all well and good Master but won't Rabastan talk?_

_No. He doesn't know that you're Harry Potter, he knows you as Lord Raiden, my apprentice. That is the way it will stay as well. None of the rest will find out until it's time for the grand revelation as it were._

Raiden chuckled, which sounded very odd in parseltongue and then said, _Very well. I assume Sirius will be robed and masked as well as Draco?_

Voldemort nodded and restrained himself from rolling his eyes. _Yes Raiden. The plan is as follows, I will summon the Death Eaters and they will arrive. You will enter when I give you the signal and stand at my right side, just behind me, with Sirius and Draco flanking you. Lucius and Severus will be standing beside me as well. Severus will be on my left and Lucius on my right so Lucius will be standing just in front of you. All the Death Eaters, with the exception of Lucius and Severus will do the whole bowing and scraping thing which is very tedious but necessary, and then I will introduce you. I will tell them that you are my apprentice, that you are not to be touched, and that any order you give them is to be treated with the same respect as an order given by myself. Sirius and Draco will be introduced as two members of your own group within our organization, and will be introduced by their Avenger nicknames. They too will be hooded and masked to prevent identification. All the Avengers will only be known by their codenames, with the exception of you, as you're the visible head of my secret intelligence division. Got it?_

_Yes Master. Will you summon them now?_

_Yes. Tell Lucius, Severus, Draco and Sirius to get in here, and tell Grim and Argentum to get dressed properly. Those hideous robes just won't do!_

Raiden snickered as he headed into the small room off the main hall to relay the message. The "hideous robes" were in reality, Death Eater robes that had been charmed to flash red and gold at odd intervals and squeak messages such as "Slytherins are slimy" and "Gryffindors rule." It had been Sirius' idea of a prank and he'd thought it funny until Voldemort had Crucioed him. Raiden had protested the harsh treatment of his godfather, and that got the curse turned on him. Sirius had retreated into the antechamber and had spent the rest of the time trying to remove the curse. As Raiden walked through the door, Sirius looked up and smirked.

"Got it off finally!" he said triumphantly.

Raiden nodded. "Good work Grim, the Emperor sent me to tell you that he wants us out there in a few minutes appropriately dressed please. Lucius and Severus, I assume you know your parts?"

Lucius scowled at him. "I've been coming to these meetings since before you were born my Lord, so yes I know my part very well thank you very much." Severus merely scowled at his student when Raiden looked at him. The young Dark Lord shrugged and then inspected his two group members, seeing that they were wearing their robes and masks. Through the door they heard the slightly muffled CRACK of apparition, repeated over and over until all the Death Eaters were there. Lucius and Severus straightened their robes and masks before stepping out to take their place at their Lord's right and left sides, scowling at the others.

Voldemort surveyed his available forces with hidden disgust. Of his original twenty Death Eaters, only twelve had managed to stay out of Azkaban and several of those that had gone to prison had died in there. He had considered expanding his inner circle to five Death Eaters, but now he had to change his plans slightly.

'I need to recruit more before I start changing things round. Having Raiden with me changes things enough right now. I don't need more instability within the pecking order' he thought to himself, filing away the notion that he ought to discuss arranging a prison break. Maybe as Raiden's first mission, when he was older. For now he needed to stabilize the forces he had. He noticed the not very well hidden curiosity of the Death Eaters at the appearance of Raiden, Sirius and Draco, and decided to make the introductions otherwise nothing would get done at all that night.

"Welcome, my Death Eaters" he said, his voice taking on the strange hissing quality he liked to use when holding meetings. The Death Eaters nodded back but remained silent. Voldemort continued, "Many of you believed me to be dead, when I lost my powers fourteen years ago. You then slipped back amongst respectable society, pretending to have been under the Imperius curse. Not one of you tried to find me. I confess myself disappointed."

The Death Eaters now shivered, and one of them dropped to the ground, almost groveling as he said, "Forgive us please my Lord, we didn't know where you were, and we couldn't search without looking suspicious."

Hidden behind his gold mask, Raiden winced slightly as Voldemort put the unfortunate Death Eater under the Cruciatus curse. The Dark Lord's voice was cold when he said, "Get up Avery. I do not forget, nor do I forgive. I want fourteen years repayment before I forgive you." Avery scrambled to get up, and hurriedly retreated to his place in the semi-circle of Death Eaters.

Once Avery had retaken his place, Voldemort said, "I trust you have noticed the three new arrivals standing behind me." Nods greeted this statement and he continued. "The one in the gold mask is my apprentice, Lord Raiden. The other two are Grim and Argentum, and they are the head of my new intelligence division. None of them are allowed to be cursed by any of you, especially not my apprentice. If I hear of any of you trying to curse Raiden, or his two second in commands, then the one that does will either be dealt with by Raiden himself or by me. Do not try it. If you attack Raiden, he might only use the Cruciatus. If you are dealt with by me, you might find your life ending is that clear?"

The Death Eaters all nodded and stared at the three intelligence division heads. They were smart enough to know that the names were most likely code names but it wasn't their place to know their real names so they left it alone. Voldemort surveyed the group, pleased at their acceptance of the three Avengers. He subtly gestured for Raiden to move forward, which he did, and hissed quietly, _You may take Grim and Argentum to the other room now, I have business to discuss that doesn't require your presence. When it is just the Inner Circle left I will recall you and you alone. Grim and Argentum are free to leave should they wish._

Raiden nodded and replied, _Yes Master. Is the Floo activated for departures?_ Voldemort nodded so Raiden led Sirius and Draco out of the room, and into the small antechamber where a fire was burning merrily, just waiting for the Floo powder to be activated. Two flashes of flame later and Raiden sat down at the small table to wait patiently for the bulk of the meeting to be finished. It didn't take long, and fifteen minutes later Raiden found himself in the room with only Voldemort and four other Death Eaters there.

"Lord Raiden, I trust you weren't bored while you waited?" Voldemort asked.

Raiden shook his head and replied, "No Master I wasn't."

Voldemort seemed satisfied as he indicated the four Death Eaters, only one of which was unknown to Raiden. "This, my apprentice, is my inner circle. Lucius Malfoy is on my right, and Severus Snape is on my left. Then we have Rabastan Lestrange beside Lucius and finally Augustus Rookwood beside Severus. They are my closest advisors, and will be instructing you in the Dark Arts and other subjects when I cannot do so. I will be teaching you Parseltongue spells, as we are the only two Parselmouths in Britain at the moment and it would be a shame to see a whole class of spells go to waste through lack of users. Listen to them as you would me when they are teaching you."

Raiden nodded and examined the four in front of him curiously. He knew Rabastan, Lucius and Severus of course but had to keep up the pretence that he was meeting them for the first time. They all shook hands, and then Rookwood asked, "My Lord, would it be possible for us to see what Lord Raiden looks like under his mask?"

"No you may not" Raiden said, speaking for the first time. Rookwood nodded, disappointed, but able to understand why his request was denied. He supposed that the head of the intelligence division had the right to keep his true identity secret. Nodding, he bowed and left, with Voldemort's permission of course. Rabastan followed him and once only Voldemort, Raiden, Lucius and Severus were left, Raiden removed his mask with a sigh of relief.

"It gets hot under there" he said at the odd looks he was getting from the three other wizards.

Lucius and Severus shook their heads, before Lucius enquired, "Ever hear of cooling charms Raiden?" At Raiden's shocked look the two Death Eaters groaned.

"Just because they're spelled against anti-summoning charms and other things does not mean that they can't have other spells put on them, Raiden," Voldemort said with some amusement. Raiden huffed in annoyance and promptly put a permanent cooling charm on the mask.

"I'll have to tell the rest of the Avengers that," he remarked. Voldemort nodded before waving his wand and creating three chairs before indicating that they should sit down. Once they were all seated, they started discussing plans for the upcoming year.

"Hold on, you're telling me that the Ministry is refusing to believe what I said about you being back Master," Raiden said in disbelief.

Voldemort nodded, looking pleased. "Yes Raiden that's exactly what I'm saying. However, the Ministry is trying to discredit you and Dumbledore for saying that I'm back, and they're going as far as to put a Ministry approved person as Defence against the Dark Arts teacher this year."

"Who is this person and can they teach?" Raiden asked. Defence was his favorite subject, despite the number of teachers he'd had over the years.

Lucius shook his head gloomily. "The person is Minister Fudge's undersecretary, Dolores Umbridge. They are planning on teaching a "Ministry approved" defence curriculum this year, and from what I've heard it will be mostly out of a book. I've taken a look at it and the book could quite easily put an insomniac to sleep."

Raiden's look of curiosity turned to outrage. "So we're being taught out of a boring book, and with the Ministry's stance on the current state of affairs it's a pretty safe bet that we'll hardly be encouraged to practice the spells. It's our OWL year for Merlin's sake! What are we supposed to do – be able to do the spells for the very first time in front of the examiners?!"

"Unfortunately it seems that way, Raiden," Severus put in. He didn't like the sound of what was going on, he didn't want his students suffering because the Ministry was being a bunch of idiots. Raiden sighed and then looked at Voldemort.

"It would be very out of character for Harry Potter to remain silent about your return, Master. If I don't continue to speak out and try to convince people, it might make Dumbledore suspicious. Will that harm our plans?"

Voldemort tilted his head to the side. "Since the general public prefers not to believe you, the only harm you'll do is to Harry Potter's reputation. In fact, the more the public stick their heads in the sand, the more it will help. So, continue to try and convince people, but don't make too much of an enemy of the Ministry."

Raiden nodded. "OK, Master. This year should be interesting at least. Should I start a Defence group for Slytherin so we can actually pass our OWLs and NEWTs?"

Severus shook his head. "No. I'll offer private tutoring to our house as well as any other house that wants it. I'm betting that most of the Ravenclaws will join, as will some Hufflepuffs, they want good grades as well. Gryffindors will be the interesting ones; will they be able to overcome their aversion to us "slimy snakes" for the sake of their Defence grades?"

Raiden shrugged. "Not sure sir but the Avengers will all be there." Severus nodded, already planning which syllabus to use and which books. Mentally making notes and plans he barely acknowledged Voldemort's dismissal, which amused the Dark Lord. Any other Death Eater would have been Crucioed but Voldemort understood that Severus could get deeply absorbed in planning and hardly notice others around him which was just another quirk of the man that Voldemort accepted because of his skill as a Potions Master. Soon after, Lucius and Raiden went back to Malfoy Manor, Raiden by Floo and Lucius by Apparation. Raiden couldn't wait until he was old enough to learn, even though Lucius had said that it wasn't a very pleasant feeling.

Raiden landed in the fireplace, feeling worn out from the meeting. He needed to sleep, it was the first of September the next day and he wanted to be awake for the ride. Stumbling to bed, he noticed vaguely that Draco was already asleep, and he quickly stripped off his outer clothing, not bothering to change any further and fell into his own bed. He was asleep soon after, not noticing when Lucius quietly entered and changed his clothes into pyjamas using a switching spell. Raiden didn't awaken until the morning when Draco dumped a vase of water on his face to make him wake up and get ready for the trip to Hogwarts.

At King's Cross, the station was noisy and crowded as per usual. The Avengers quickly got their own compartment as they'd done the previous two years and spent the train ride discussing their summers.

"So, how was the rest of the meeting?" Draco asked Raiden, after ensuring that the compartment was layered with silencing spells and a locking spell was on the door.

Raiden shrugged. "Apparently we've got a "Ministry approved" Defence professor this year, and I'm under orders to continue to try and disrupt the Ministry's comfortable world view as it were. Seeing the looks they were getting from the rest of the Avengers, Raiden sighed, and took out the packages that Voldemort had given him.

"It was the first Death Eater meeting last night since Voldemort's rebirth. We discussed plans for the wizarding world and this year. My Master gave me these to give to you. The robes are charmed to always be the perfect size and the masks are unable to be summoned away from you, as are the robes. We won't be called to full meetings, only myself, Argentum here, and Grim will be called to those. If my Master wants to meet with all of us then he'll arrange a separate meeting. We're his secret intelligence division he said, and as such, I, Grim and Argentum will be the visible heads with the rest of you remaining secret."

Hermione smirked. "So we're Lord Voldemort's spies are we?"

Raiden nodded silently. The rest of the train ride passed with only school stuff being discussed as the spells were taken off the door. The new robes from Voldemort were quickly packed at the bottom of their trunks, safe from discovery.

When they reached the Great Hall after a wet ride in the carriages, Draco poked Raiden in the ribs. A short woman that looked remarkably like a toad was sitting next to Dumbledore, dressed in a horrible pink cardigan. She had wide mouth, pale eyes, and a fake smile plastered onto her face. The Slytherins took an immediate dislike to her, and by the rest of the students' muttering, they didn't like her either.

"Hem hem" the new Defence professor said, interrupting Dumbledore in his notices. The students exchanged smirks while the staff scowled at her. McGonagall looked positively hawk like while Sprout and Flitwick looked no less annoyed. Snape hid his disgust well but the rest of the staff were restraining themselves from hissing in outrage.

"Thank you Headmaster for those kind words of introduction" she breathed.

Daphne leaned over to Raiden and muttered, "She even sounds silly. I mean, didn't she go through puberty – she sounds like a little girl."

The boys nearby snorted, but quietly as they listened to a speech that put most of the hall to sleep. At the end, Raiden poked Blaise in the ribs and hissed, "Wake up, that was important!"

"What was important, all she was saying was waffle," Blaise slurred. The food and long trip had almost put him to sleep.

Raiden shook his head. "That "waffle" hid some important things Diablo, like the fact that the Ministry is interfering with the running of Hogwarts. Umbridge is the tip of the spear; the Ministry is trying to mount a takeover of our school."

"What are we supposed to do about it?" Blaise hissed back. Raiden shrugged. "I'm guessing the Defence classes this year are going to be worthless and the Ministry is going to try and censor anything we say that isn't in line with their view of the world. So, what we do, once we've got an idea of what she's like, is mount a quiet but pointed rebellion."

"Mhmm, lets wait and see what she's like before we do anything though. If she's as bad as we think, then we'll unleash the combined powers of the Avengers and the Marauders on her" Blaise muttered as they headed down to the common room. Raiden, Draco and Daphne nodded in unison before memorizing the first password of the year, "Ministry Morons," and heading in to bed. Umbridge wasn't going to know what hit her if she tried to take over Hogwarts.


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter Twenty Eight: DADA Disaster**

Raiden and the rest of the Avengers met in front of the DADA classroom after lunch on the third day of classes. They had all just come from Arithmancy and Daphne and Hermione were arguing good naturedly over a concept that had been introduced that day. The boys were rolling their eyes and staying out of it, preferring to let the concepts sink into their memories without discussing them forever. They all were slightly shocked at how much work they were being given so far, it seemed that OWL year was the busiest year at Hogwarts with the exception of their seventh year. A silent agreement was made that they would do their study together, and study came before fun, even Quidditch took a back seat to work this year.

The door opened and the class filed in, Slytherins and Ravenclaws together. They got out their books, parchment and quills, and laid their wands on their desks as well. A few minutes later Umbridge walked in and the class was strongly reminded of a toad once more.

"Good afternoon class," she said in what she thought was a sweet tone.

The students fought not to retch, and managed it with difficulty. They muttered back "Good afternoon Professor Umbridge," and lapsed back into silence. Umbridge frowned.

"Now now, this won't do. When I say good afternoon I expect you all to say it back clearly and all together understood" she said.

The students looked at each other in disbelief before chanting back "Good afternoon Professor Umbridge."

"Much better," Umbridge said in satisfaction. She noticed the wands on the tables and frowned again. "You won't need your wands, class, this is a theory based course. Wands away please." She turned and wrote the course aims on the board with a wave of her own wand, which was short and thick, just like her.

Over the muttering of the rest of the students, the Avengers stared at each other in shock, before Raiden put his hand up. "Yes, Mr Potter," Umbridge said.

Raiden shook his head before saying "Um, Professor, you said this is a theory based course right. Well, isn't there a practical portion of the OWLs?"

"Yes there is, Mr Potter but if you study the theory hard enough then there is no reason that you should not be able to do the spells in the exam," Umbridge replied determinedly.

Hermione scowled and put up her hand as well. "Professor," she said when Umbridge called on her, "I read a book on magical theory in the library here and it said that it takes several weeks of practice for most students to master any spell, whether it be Charms, Transfiguration or Defence. If we aren't allowed to practice the spells then most of us will fail the practical portion because the spells won't work the first time. Surely in a controlled class setting such as this we can practice them and be safe while doing so."

Umbridge scowled. "The Ministry has deemed it prudent that the spells be studied in theory only until the time comes to use them in the exams. After all, there is nothing that would require you to use them out in the real world."

Raiden had heard enough. To hell with keeping quiet, he wasn't going to let this toad ruin his exam results in one of his best subjects. Not bothering with putting his hand up he stood and snarled out, "So there's nothing out there that might attack us is there? What about the Death Eaters at the Quidditch World Cup last year huh? Or the Dark Mark that's been seen since? Voldemort is out there you stupid bitch, we need to be able to use these spells!"

Half the class screamed at the mention of the Dark Lord's name while the Avengers stared at Raiden in stunned disbelief. Never had he talked to a teacher this way before. Raiden was beyond caring though; the idea that the Ministry was deliberately sabotaging students' learning was infuriating him. He stared challengingly at Umbridge, meeting her pale eyes squarely. The eyes narrowed before Umbridge said sweetly, "Sit down, Mr Potter, you have a book to read." Turning to the rest of the class she said, "All of you turn to the first chapter and begin reading."

The class looked between her and Raiden, before they opened their books with a rustling of paper and began to read. Within moments they had sunk into a stupor more reminiscent of History of Magic than DADA. The Avengers kept sneaking glances at Raiden who had flicked through his book, snorting at the utter bullshit that the Ministry was trying to get them to learn. Umbridge kept an eye on him, but he didn't care. He spent the lesson doodling in the margins, writing rude notes about the Ministry's competence and trustworthiness, as well as his opinion on the general public for believing the tripe they were fed without bothering to question it.

At the end of the period Umbridge stood again. "Mr Potter, would you come up here please," she called. Raiden stopped packing his things away and walked up to her desk, stopping a good foot away, fingering his wand and wishing that he could throw a wandless, silent Crucio curse. Under ordinary circumstances he wouldn't have even considered tossing an Unforgivable at a teacher but this toad wasn't a teacher she was a Ministry moron that was attempting to take over Hogwarts and ruin the students' education, all with the support of the Minister of Magic himself.

Umbridge was writing a note on a piece of parchment. When she was finished she handed it to him and said, "You are dismissed, Mr Potter. Take that to Professor Snape, it is a note informing him that you have detention tonight at eight pm. I daresay he will not be pleased with you, getting a detention on the third day of classes and all. It's your own fault though."

Raiden snorted. "How typical, you're giving me detention for telling the truth. Then again, the Minister has never been one to listen to reason has he? I'll serve that detention, _Professor_ but I promise you, when I'm proven right, I'll be telling everyone how the Ministry attempted to ruin our education."

Raiden took the note and left the classroom, too angry to say anything more. He didn't have another class after DADA; it was the last class of the day for him. With that in mind, and knowing that he'd find Professor Snape in his office, he headed for the dungeons.

Snape was grading essays when a knock on the door alerted him to someone's presence. Pushing away the essays he called out "Enter." Raiden walked in and threw a note down on his desk before dropping into the other chair, breathing deeply to get his anger under control.

Raising an eyebrow, Snape picked up the note and read it. He put it down and frowned, he didn't approve of his students' antagonizing Professors the way Raiden had but he had to agree with him, Umbridge was a menace.

"I suppose you want me to get you out of this detention, Potter," he said slowly.

Raiden shook his head. "Actually sir I don't. I'll serve the detention, but I want you to know that I wasn't telling lies I was actually trying to get the fact that Voldemort is back through to that bitch."

"Language, Potter. You know who she's serving; you know who she reports to. She won't change her mind so getting yourself landed in detention for telling her that the Dark Lord is back is not worth the trouble. Serve this detention and then in future classes just bite your tongue and stay silent no matter how angry she makes you. You know our plans for real DADA lessons; they'll be set up in a week or so. Just hang on till then alright."

Raiden nodded moodily. "Sorry sir, I'm just so frustrated, did you know that she expects us to be able to do the spells perfectly first time in front of the examiners, even though the magical theory books in the library say that it takes a few weeks for students to master spells, almost no one gets them perfect first time. It's impossible for us to pass our practical OWL in DADA with what she's teaching us."

Snape rubbed his eyes and sighed. "I know, Mr Potter, the staff isn't any happier I assure you but at the moment we can't do anything about it. In a few weeks we can start doing something but for now we have to remain silent and watchful."

Raiden shook his head. "Fine sir. I can promise you though that if things get worse then the Avengers will take action against Umbridge, with the help of the Marauders."

He looked up in time to see a strange gleam in Snape's eyes before the man said softly, "A rebellion. If it comes to that, you can count on my support, not openly of course, but I will support you."

Raiden nodded and got up again. "Thank you sir, I'll get ready for that detention then."

Snape nodded and pulled the essays back towards him again, looking up only to say, "Don't forget about dinner Mr Potter."

Raiden headed up for dinner after putting his books back in his dormitory. He was still annoyed but his anger had cooled enough for him to think rationally. He kicked himself mentally, he should have waited a few days but knowing that the Ministry was turning his favorite subject into a useless hell was infuriating for him. He closed his eyes and worked on his Occlumency, feeling calmer the longer he worked on it, the brief meditation he used for Occlumency always had a calming effect on him. He barely noticed what he had for dinner, being too busy glaring at the smug toad at the staff table who was annoying her colleagues if the glares on McGonagall's and Flitwick's faces were anything to go by. After dinner he headed down to the common room to do some of his homework before the detention. At quarter to eight he put his books away and headed to the DADA classroom for his eight pm detention.

Walking into the classroom, he stopped short at the sight that met his eyes. Umbridge was waiting for him, smiling in a way that made his instincts scream DANGER! at him. Shaking his head, Raiden sat down at the nearest desk, which held a piece of parchment.

"What do you want me to do, Professor?" he said, stopping just short of sneering at her.

Umbridge smiled widely at him, and said, "You'll be writing lines, Mr Potter, and the message is "I will not tell lies." Understood?"

Raiden nodded tersely and pulled a quill from his pocket. "Yes, Professor. I have a quill but there's no ink. How am I supposed to write?"

Umbridge smirked at him and replied, "You won't be using your quill, Mr Potter, I expect you to use mine. Here." She handed him a black quill with a wickedly sharp point after casting a spell on it, which Raiden identified as a spell that was designed to enhance the natural function of an object. Raiden took it, and then looked between it and his teacher. It looked familiar to him but he couldn't remember why. Shrugging he put it to the parchment and began to write.

Immediately he felt a sharp pain in the back of his hand. The words he was writing were being written in a thick red fluid which smelled coppery to Raiden. He wrote more lines, and felt another burst of pain. Looking at his hand he saw the words being carved deep into the back of it. In shock he suddenly understood what the fluid he was writing in was. He was writing the words in his own blood! Then he remembered why the quill looked familiar – he'd read about quills like this in his history of magic book last year. They were known as blood quills and were classified as torture implements. They were only used now for certain legal contracts that had to be signed in blood – any other use was deemed illegal and was heavily punished by law.

Throwing down the quill, he stood up. In a tight voice he said, "I believe torture was outlawed several hundred years or so ago Professor and I refuse to be tortured over simply telling the truth. I'm leaving!"

He turned and walked out of the room, heading for Snape's office, wrapping his hand in his handkerchief to stop the bleeding. Giving a sharp knock on the door he entered, and put his hand flat on the table in front of his Head of House.

"She wasn't giving me detention, she was torturing me! She made me write lines with a blood quill!" he snarled at the surprised look that Snape was giving him. Snape looked at Raiden's hand closely, noting the fresh cuts on the back, cuts deep enough that he could clearly read the words that Raiden had had to write.

"Why did it cut so deep on the first use?" Snape queried.

Raiden growled. "She cast a spell on it to enhance its natural function. That would have made it cut deeper than normal. Ouch!"

"Sorry" Snape apologised, having been carefully examining Raiden's hand from every angle and had accidentally pressed on a tender spot. Growling to himself he stood, pulling Raiden up with him.

"We're going to see the Headmaster, Potter; he won't condone students being tortured by a Professor of this school, no matter who they answer to."

Taking his life in his hands, Raiden said, "Then why hasn't he fired you over your treatment of Gryffindors sir?"

Snape glared at him. "He tolerates it because I actually do teach them Potter; the fact that I insult and belittle them isn't the same as what Umbridge is doing to you. Has she done it to anyone else yet?"

Raiden shook his head. "I don't know sir. I know the Gryffindor seventh years had their class with her today, along with our seventh years but I don't know anyone in that house well enough to be able to enquire about something like that."

Snape nodded. "Alright. I'll inquire about it with Minerva, she ought to know. For now let's go and show the Headmaster." Raiden could do nothing but stay with Snape, the man had hold of his arm and was walking fast, leaving Raiden no option but to walk as fast as he could to keep up. Soon they reached the gargoyle and were soon in Dumbledore's office. The old wizard looked up at the unannounced entrance.

"Severus, Harry, what brings you here at this time" he said. Snape growled and led Raiden forward, putting his hand down on Dumbledore's desk. "The Defence professor feels it is her duty to bring students into line via torture, Headmaster. Mr Potter here spoke out against the Ministry's version of Defence against the Dark Arts and got himself detention because of it. He was told to write lines with a blood quill."

Dumbledore frowned, and inspected Raiden's hand closely. "I see. Do you mind if I call an Auror here to take pictures Mr Potter? None of us are happy with Ms Umbridge's presence here, and if we have hard evidence we can use it later if things get worse."

Raiden looked at Snape who gave a slight nod. Looking back at Dumbledore, Raiden nodded. "No I don't mind Professor. Do you think I could get the Ministry to change their mind if I owled Voldemort and asked if he would show up in DADA for one lesson?"

"What do you mean, Mr Potter?" Dumbledore asked with a scowl.

Raiden shrugged. "Voldemort doesn't like it when people think he doesn't exist, he'd probably love to show up Umbridge."

Snape was struggling to hold back laughter, the Dark Lord showing up in a DADA lesson would be a sight to behold. Imagining Umbridge calling him an imposter and attempting to give him detention almost broke his control and he choked silently.

"Are you alright Professor?" Raiden asked. Snape nodded and when he told Dumbledore and Raiden what he'd been imagining, they too started chuckling. "I don't think that's a viable option Mr Potter although I do admit that Severus' idea is amusing," Dumbledore finally said, his eyes twinkling brightly. Raiden grinned and submitted to having his hand photographed by the Auror that had come through the fire while they'd been talking. Introducing himself as Kingsley Shacklebolt, the bald Auror quickly took photographs with an Auror issued camera, which took the photos and transmitted them to a secure file in the Ministry Auror Headquarters. With the photos secure, Snape led Raiden back to the Slytherin common room, giving him a salve which would heal the cuts. The spell cast on the blood quill had made it cut deep enough for the scars to be lasting, they would never fade completely. Raiden's only hope was that enough time spent in the sun would give him enough of a tan to partially hide the marks.

That night, he contacted Voldemort through their diaries. Voldemort looked up when his diary gave a soft _ping_ and he opened it.

**Master, are you there? **Raiden wrote.

Voldemort picked up a quill and wrote back, **Yes. What is it?**

**I want to give you an update on the school year so far.**

**So get on with it.**

**Right. I had my first DADA lesson today, and it's every bit as awful as we supposed. The Ministry isn't letting us practice the spells at all, they expect us to learn the theory and then do the spells perfectly for the first time in the exams. It's ridiculous.**

**I agree Raiden but I sense there's something you're not telling me.**

**(sigh). You're right Master. I did what you told me, I spoke out against this as well as insulting her. I told Umbridge, who's the Undersecretary to the Minister and our DADA professor, and she gave me detention.**

**So why are you complaining to me?**

**I'm complaining to you because she had me write "I must not tell lies" with a blood quill.**

**She had you do WHAT!**

**You heard. I showed Snape and he took me to Dumbledore. There are now photographic records at the Ministry Auror office showing what she did to me. If she does it to anyone else at Hogwarts more photos will be taken. **

**Did Dumbledore find out anything about our connection?**

**No. He wasn't interested in me or you; I came to him as a student complaining about a teacher. I did suggest that as you don't like people thinking you don't exist that you ought to show up at a DADA lesson and show up Umbridge. **

Voldemort chuckled at this; his apprentice really was quite creative with his idea to get back at the toad. He knew who Umbridge was, Lucius kept him well informed on the Ministry personnel and it was with regret that he picked up his quill again.

**That's an amusing idea Raiden however it might cause a panic. While I enjoy causing mass panic on occasion, it might make Dumbledore suspicious of you. Did he ask how you would ask me to come?**

**No he didn't. That was because when I asked the question, I said that I would owl you. He seemed amused at the concept. Professor Snape also was amused at the thought of you showing up, although he took it a step further.**

**Oh?**

**Yes. He thought that Umbridge would call you an imposter, and think that you were a student trying to impersonate you to scare her. She might have tried to give you detention.**

Here Raiden broke into muffled chuckles once more, thankful for the silencing charms on his bed curtains which hid his mirth from his peacefully sleeping dorm mates. He shook his head and read what his master had written.

**Ha ha very funny. You may tell Severus that I appreciate his sense of humor and that I will be expressing my displeasure towards Umbridge within the next few days, in a way that will be amusing for the school and hellishly painful for the toad. Now, it's far too late for you to still be awake so kindly go to sleep. **

**Fine. Goodnight Master.**

**Goodnight my apprentice. I do appreciate the report.**

**Thank you Master.**

Raiden and Voldemort both closed their journals, Raiden went to sleep, dreaming of possible ways that his master might show his displeasure to the toad, while Voldemort sat for a while turning over possible ideas in his mind. The idea that he went after the toad's family in revenge was discarded immediately, it would bring up questions about Raiden's loyalties that he didn't want asked, as it would be suspicious for the Dark Lord to target someone that had directly hurt him. Plus it wasn't quite personal enough. Finally he decided on a special form of Howler. It would be delivered at breakfast the next morning. Voldemort smirked, pulling a piece of parchment towards him and picking up a quill. Thinking for a few minutes he began to write. Once he was finished he cast a few spells on it. Umbridge would think twice before torturing his apprentice again, he would see to that.


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter Twenty Nine: Howlers and Professor Voldemort**

Raiden smirked as he went up to breakfast a few days later. Voldemort had informed him, via their diaries that his one and only warning to Umbridge would arrive that morning. He had also told Raiden that if Umbridge ignored his warning then he would be taking Raiden's idea and running with it. That meant showing up in DADA, and he would clear it with Dumbledore first, promising not to harm the students while he was there.

Grinning, Raiden sat down beside Daphne, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. The two had chosen to take their relationship slowly to the next level and had officially declared themselves as a couple in the last week of the summer. Sirius had enquired as to whether Daphne would be wearing a promise ring anytime soon but both Raiden and Daphne had said no, that would come in either their sixth or seventh year if they lasted that long. They were still taking it slow, good morning kisses and the odd snog here and there but by far the most common expression of affection towards each other were hugs and holding hands outside Hogwarts.

Daphne kissed him back and then smiled as Raiden grinned at her. "What's got you in such a good mood this morning?" she asked.

Looking round to ascertain that the only ones near them were the Avengers, Raiden lowered his voice as he replied, "You know that DADA class that I insulted Umbitch in?"

"Yeah. What was that note that she gave you?" Blaise asked.

Raiden smirked and replied, "It was a note advising Snape that she'd given me detention. Don't get detention with her guys; she forces you to write lines with a blood quill. Take a look at my hand."

He laid his hand on the table and there was a growl from all the Avengers as they saw the broad scar on their friend and leader's hand. Hermione, who was sitting with them that morning glared at the staff table, before turning back and hissing quietly, "Do you want me to research a list of spells you can use to pay her back, Veneficus?"

Raiden smirked. "Thanks, Athena but I had a better idea. I complained to my Master about it." He struggled not to burst out laughing when all his friends smirked.

"And what did Lord Voldemort have to say about it?" Draco asked, looking rather eager.

Raiden looked up at that moment and spotted a large black owl winging its way towards the staff table. "Hear for yourself. He's sent a Howler but he's told me that if Umbitch doesn't listen, and I'm betting she won't, that he'll take my idea and go with it."

"What's that?" Daphne asked.

Raiden smirked. "He'll show up in DADA and curse the living daylights out of her." The Avengers collapsed in laughter at the thought. "Oh I hope she does think the Howler is a prank of some sort" Blaise snorted. The Avengers were in full agreement, even Hermione, who would normally not have condoned mistreatment of a teacher. She did however, agree that Umbridge was not a good teacher and deserved to be mistreated a little.

The staff was curious at the owl that landed in front of their most hated colleague but all were secretly, and in some cases, not so secretly amused at the Howler that had arrived. They were just wondering who it was from when Umbridge opened it and they had their answer.

A smoky Dark Mark rose from it, followed by Voldemort's cold voice. Now everyone was curious and a little scared, some of the students screamed at the Dark Mark but were hushed by older students who wanted to hear what the Dark Lord had to say to Umbridge.

"Dolores Umbridge," the Howler started. "I am most disappointed with the Ministry's current stance on my state of health. I assure you and your precious Minister that I am very much alive, and that continued denial of my existence would not be beneficial for your health. I don't expect you to take this seriously; you would have to have more brain cells than the current total of none for you to do that, so I will give you this ultimatum. If you continue to torment and harass the students and staff of Hogwarts in an effort to turn it into your own little empire, then I will have to show up and teach you a lesson. In other words I will show up in your classroom and take it over. The students will at least get ONE good DADA lesson that way this year."

The Howler stopped shouting at Umbridge and turned to Dumbledore. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to hire me to teach DADA, Albus? I'm certainly more qualified than the toad."

Dumbledore was chuckling, his eyes twinkling madly; he was enjoying the fact that Voldemort had sent his biggest headache a Howler. Collecting himself he replied, "I'm afraid not, Tom, the students would be too scared of you to actually learn. Sorry."

The Howler seemed to shrug before it turned back to Umbridge, "Remember just who you're dealing with, Umbitch. I have been informed of your discipline techniques and I am appalled. Yes, I, Lord Voldemort, the Dark Lord am appalled at your treatment of your students. Not even I would be as cruel as you're being."

There was a pause before the Howler said menacingly, "Here's a taste of what will happen if you force me to come to Hogwarts." A jet of red light shot out of the envelope and hit Umbridge square in the chest. A few seconds passed before Umbridge began to writhe in her chair. The Howler floated in mid air and said, "It wasn't the Cruciatus, it is an itching curse in various unmentionable places which won't stop until you admit that I am, in fact, alive." The red envelope then turned round in mid air to face the students and said, "Have fun learning Defence, I imagine your teacher should be a bit more amenable to learning curses and counter curses now. Feel free to owl me should her behavior deteriorate. Good day."

The Howler then ripped itself up, and there was a dead silence in the hall for a few seconds before someone snorted in laughter. The hilarity spread until most of the students were sliding off their seats, and the staff weren't far behind. Umbridge sat in her seat, twitching occasionally, trying to control or ignore the itching. The Avengers were almost choking with laughter, and as Raiden met Dumbledore's eyes he winked. Dumbledore smirked at him, knowing perfectly well that his student had owled Voldemort, despite being told not to. It hadn't had any bad consequences though, well, none except for Umbridge that is. Just then the Daily Prophet landed on the table and the population of Hogwarts began reading with concentration. The ministry was doing their level best to remain in denial of the whole situation as per usual. Raiden snorted in disgust and wandlessly incinerated the paper he was holding, making it look like a flare of uncontrolled magic to those that didn't know his abilities. To those that did know however, namely the Avengers and Snape, it didn't do more than raise a few eyebrows at his level of control.

"Annoyed much," Draco whispered. Raiden snorted again and got up to head for Arithmancy. He needed a distraction and working out complicated numerical equations seemed like just the thing. He was joined soon after by his friends and then the rest of the class. He lost himself in the daily routine of classes and homework, managing not to think about the Daily Prophet, or the Ministry, or Umbridge. He wore himself out that day, although if anyone mentioned the Howler he would allow himself a smirk or a chuckle depending on how absorbed in his current task he was.

At dinner, Umbridge scowled fiercely at Raiden all throughout the meal. Raiden ignored it for the most part, except to smile cheekily at her at times. He sent a wandless tickling charm at her, which reinforced the itching curse from Voldemort. Umbridge twitched even more violently and scowled even more fiercely.

Over the next few months, things steadily worsened at Hogwarts. Umbridge continued to make life miserable for everyone, DADA had rapidly become everyone's least favorite class and the fifth and seventh years were complaining about the lack of preparation they were getting for their OWLs and NEWTs. Finally one day, Raiden had had enough. Although Snape was giving DADA lessons to any student who wanted it, and that now included all of Slytherin, most of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, and all the seventh year Gryffindors, Umbridge had appointed herself High Inquisitor and had enacted educational decrees which was making the school suffer. The student rebellion would go ahead as soon as Voldemort had made his appearance. Snape fully approved of the plan and told the staff when Umbridge wasn't around. The only staff member not told apart from her was Filch who was firmly on the toad's side.

Accordingly, about three months into the school year, a deluge of owls descended on Voldemort all bearing notes with variations of "Please follow through on that Howler, the toad still hasn't acknowledged your existence." The Dark Lord smirked; the students were apparently more interested in seeing Umbridge suffer than they were afraid of him. He folded up the letters, incinerated them and then made his plans, starting with a note to Dumbledore.

Two days afterwards, the fifth year Ravenclaws and Slytherins were in DADA when the door silently opened. The Avengers looked up, followed by the rest of the class. Several gasped silently at seeing their visitor. Voldemort put one finger to his lips, and smirked at them. Half the class smirked back as Voldemort advanced to the front, and loomed over Umbridge's desk.

"Hello Professor," he said.

Umbridge looked up and her mouth gaped open, looking very unattractive. "Who are you?!" she snapped once she'd got herself back under control.

Voldemort raised an eyebrow. "I'm the person you think doesn't exist Umbitch. I am Lord Voldemort."

Umbridge snorted. "Yeah right." She got up and swept the class with her gaze. Seeing Raiden smirking openly she snapped out, "Potter! Which one of your delusional little friends did you get to impersonate this, this figment of your deranged imagination?! Both you and this, this imposter now have detention for the rest of the school year!"

There was a collective gasp from the class and many closed their eyes in anticipation of painful retribution from the Dark Lord. Raiden winced; he didn't have to see Voldemort's expression to know that his master was furious at what Umbridge had said.

Voldemort smirked cruelly. "Class, what have you learnt from this toad?" he asked.

The students looked stupefied for a moment before answering as one "NOTHING!"

Voldemort shook his head. "At your level you ought to be learning a lot of things. Just watch, I'll demonstrate some of the more useful curses, hexes and jinxes for you."

The class looked entertained as Voldemort showed the side of himself that had been able to teach Raiden at age eight. In other words, he let go of his Dark Lord persona for the one period and became more of the teacher that Raiden remembered from his childhood. As Voldemort explained certain concepts that they ought to know, he used Umbridge as a practice dummy.

At some point Raiden glanced round and saw a strange sight. Most of the staff was at the door, watching in a strange kind of horror/amusement at the sight of the Dark Lord teaching Defence against the Dark Arts. Dumbledore was there too and he was twinkling away as he normally did, as if pleased at the sight in front of him. Voldemort noticed them too and smirked. "Do any of you wish to add anything to the lesson?" he asked. Head shakes answered him and Voldemort shrugged. "If you wish to stay then you're welcome to do so however please don't interrupt." He turned back to demonstrating a blood boiling curse and its counter, seeming not to care about the shrieks that Umbridge gave when the curse was performed.

Finally Voldemort stopped cursing the toad and stepped back. "Do any of you wish to practice any of the spells I've shown you?" The class eagerly advanced on Umbridge, and covered her with curse, hex and jinx marks until Voldemort stopped them five minutes before the end of the lesson.

"The last three curses that I have to show you are the Unforgivables. I imagine you covered them last year but a refresher never hurt. Can anyone tell me what they are?"

Dead silence greeted him before Hermione raised her hand. "Yes, Miss Granger," Voldemort said, having got her name from Raiden via their bond.

Hermione swallowed nervously but answered, "The Imperius curse, the Cruciatus curse and the Avada Kedavra curse. Professor Moody showed them last year on spiders."

Voldemort nodded. "Good. Ten points to Ravenclaw. Now, I might as well demonstrate two of them. I won't use the Avada Kedavra, I don't want to deprive the school of such a _wonderful_ teacher, but the other two are educational enough."

"Imperio," he snapped. Umbridge went under immediately and Voldemort rolled his eyes. "The more powerful a witch or wizard is, the harder it is to keep them under control with this curse. Although I am very powerful, I would have to expend a decent amount of concentration and power to keep a moderately powerful witch or wizard under control. Umbridge is ridiculously weak; I could be asleep and still have her fully under my control. Now, what should I have her do?"

The class smirked; they were really enjoying this lesson. They then started giving outrageous suggestions, all of which Voldemort actually made Umbridge do. The toad was forced to act like a chicken, proclaim her love for centaurs, behave like a house elf and a myriad of other things. Then Raiden had the ultimate suggestion.

"Have her kiss your robes like one of the Death Eaters. Make her believe that she's your servant."

Voldemort looked disgusted. "Why would I want her soiling my robes, Potter? Having her as a servant would lower the collective IQ of my followers to the very low negatives, and I assure you that all my followers are highly intelligent. In fact, I'm surprised that her IQ level actually registers on the scale at all."

The class, and the watching staff exploded in laughter at the insinuation that Umbridge had an IQ so low that it almost didn't register. The bell rang for the end of the period and there was a collective groan. The students didn't want to leave. Voldemort too looked almost upset that his fun was being cut short.

"One more thing class." Turning back to Umbridge Voldemort leveled his wand at the toad and hissed out "Crucio!" He held the curse for a minute and then let up. Turning back to the class, he said, "I would have held it longer but I don't want to drive her even more insane than she already is." There was a rather weak chuckle from the students, they hadn't enjoyed seeing their teacher writhing and shrieking under the curse. The only one unaffected was Snape, the other teachers and students weren't used to torture enough to be able to watch it dispassionately, not even Raiden and the other Avengers.

Voldemort nodded to the class, and then to the staff. As he turned to leave, he said, "Thank you Dumbledore, I found teaching that class rather enjoyable."

Dumbledore smirked slightly and said, "Thinking of changing careers Tom?" A snort was his answer as Voldemort replied, "No. Teaching all day every day? No thanks. I just came to deal with a problem at the request of your students." With that he turned into a large black falcon and vanished out the window, leaving the students and staff looking at where he'd been in shock. They then turned to Umbridge and grinned, she still looked fearful. Raiden sent a small wandless, silent spell at her and smirked. Umbridge tried to speak but all that came out was a croak.

"What was that you were saying Dolores? I can't quite understand you, you sound like a toad," McGonagall said, prompting a gasp from the students present that she would say something like that.

Umbridge croaked again, and then got hold of her wand. A small counter curse and she was able to speak normally again. Face flushed with anger she snarled, "You'll all pay for this. I'll be giving my report to the Minister I can assure you of that!"

The staff looked distinctly unimpressed and the students merely yawned. "Have fun Umbridge, the only one that will look like a nutcase is you. After all, if Lord Voldemort is supposed to be dead then how could he show up and torture you?" Snape replied, looking as menacing as he always did. Just before he left he looked hard at Raiden who merely smirked. Dumbledore just shook his head and left, he couldn't shake the feeling that Raiden was hiding something but Legilimency didn't reveal anything. The Headmaster finally decided to leave it, after all, Harry surely wouldn't join Voldemort, the Dark Lord had killed his parents after all. He was probably trying to hide some upcoming prank or something, although what could top having the Dark Lord himself teach DADA Dumbledore didn't know. Sitting in his office, Dumbledore stroked Fawkes' head and sighed softly to himself as he prepared to deal with any repercussions from the day's strange events.

Back in Riddle Manor, the Dark Lord was feeling very pleased. He had enjoyed teaching strangely enough, and it was then that he realized why he'd begun to train Raiden, having a student or students in today's case hanging on his every word gave him a different feeling of power than his current occupation did, and Voldemort was startled to realize that he liked the difference. Shaking his head he firmly pushed aside the thought that he might as well apply for the DADA post next year, Dark Lords do not teach Defence against the Dark Arts, and went back to planning what to do next in his slowly developing political takeover of the wizarding world.


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter Thirty: Educational Decrees and Rebellion**

After Voldemort's DADA lesson all the students could talk about was how he'd dealt with Umbridge. The Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs were sort of jealous even though they didn't really want to meet the Dark Lord in person. The staff were still in a daze that Voldemort had taught a class and not only hadn't he cursed any students, he'd managed to make it interesting enough that they actually learnt things instead of being scared of him. The Slytherins were impressed and congratulating Raiden when word leaked that it had been him that had first informed Voldemort of the Umbridge problem.

Umbridge wasn't going to go down without a fight though. The first weekend after the Dark Lord's visit the first of the rumored Educational Decrees appeared on the common room notice boards.

**EDUCATIONAL DECREE NUMBER ONE**

_All incoming and outgoing mail will be subject to inspection to ensure that there is no contraband information being sent or received. Mail will be delivered if it passes inspection; if it does not then it will be destroyed. All inquiries must be directed to the High Inquisitor_.

The students were in an uproar, never in all of Hogwarts' history had a teacher given themselves the power to intercept and read private mail. The Avengers looked at each other and nodded, Operation Toad Termination would go ahead that day. The first step was finding Fred and George Weasley.

It was Raiden that found them first. "Hey, Harry," they called out. They liked him, and he liked them, maybe it was the fact that he was the son of a Marauder and the godson of another but still they liked him.

Raiden grinned back and called out, "Hey guys, can I talk to you for a sec?"

The three retired to an empty corridor where they would have privacy and the twins turned curiously to Raiden, wondering at the smirk on his face. "Guys, I have a proposition for you" Raiden started, before explaining his idea. As he talked, the twins' faces grew more and more gleeful.

"So you want us to spread our WWW products round the school, tell all the students to use them in her classes." Fred said.

Raiden nodded. "Yes. Not every day or she'll get suspicious but every other day or something. We'll get Umbridge as well, prank her office or something."

The twins nodded and the three split up. Raiden looked pleased as he went to his next stop. He'd seen the twins, now it was time to deal with the staff angle, which was Snape. He found his Head of House near the staff room, and stopped him. Snape swung round to see who wanted him and let a tiny smile form as he realized it was Raiden.

"Well Mr Potter, now that you've successfully shocked everyone witless with your little prank the other day, what do you want?"

Raiden smirked and replied, "Operation Toad Termination is starting Professor, I was wondering if you might suggest to the staff that they start harassing her and impeding her in any way possible."

Snape's eyebrows nearly lost themselves in his hairline as he realized what his student wanted. "You want the staff to help in your little insurrection Potter?"

Raiden snorted. "Yes. The sooner we get rid of her the sooner we can have a decent year. I mean, really, reading our mail? Her being High Inquisitor? What next, bringing back the old style punishments?"

Snape shuddered imperceptibly. "If she does then may I suggest staying well clear of her? You'd be her test subject, she loathes you you know."

Raiden's look was cold when he hissed back, "The feelings are entirely mutual."

Snape shook his head and sighed before saying, "I'll see what I can do. It can't be overt of course, but we'll do what we can." Raiden nodded, satisfied and left, needing to hunt out a certain poltergeist.

As the weeks passed, the student rebellion got underway with entertaining results. Snape's DADA classes lasted until a new educational decree was passed stating that all teachers were only allowed to teach the students information pertaining to the subject that they were contracted to teach. Snape was furious at this, as well as being a Potions Master; he was also a certified Master of Defence against the Dark Arts. Fortunately, he was a Slytherin and soon found a way round the decree, by holding "Remedial Potions" in the classroom every evening. The classes were of course, Defence lessons, but Umbridge didn't know that. The staff was chafing under her rule as well, and when the mayhem started they were extremely disinterested in helping her stop it and even helped it along.

More educational decrees came through, until there was one per week. It had changed from being educational things though, to Umbridge outlawing anything she didn't like. The most recent one Educational Decree number twenty-seven gave her the right to inspect the teachers and fire any that she didn't approve of. Having got rid of Dumbledore already, she came round with a clipboard and sat in each class making notes and muttering darkly. McGonagall told her off sharply, Snape just sneered at her, and Flitwick "accidentally" hit her with an Engorgement charm on her nose while he was demonstrating it in a review of previous years' material. He then got the students to demonstrate the counter for it and all of them appeared to get temporary amnesia until Flitwick finally sighed and said, "Really class, the counter is quite simple." He then cast it, but the whole process had taken twenty-five minutes. The students entered into the spirit of avoiding Defence and the Weasley twins did a roaring trade in Skiving Snackboxes. Umbridge couldn't figure out why most of her classes were fainting, had nosebleeds or were vomiting all over the floor every second or third class. The excuse they all used was "Allergies to toads." Other pranks, such as Lee Jordan's levitating a Niffler into her office via the window, and Fred and George's setting off of a lot of Wildfire Whizbangs which multiplied when you tried to vanish them, caused mayhem when they entered classrooms and hurtled round the school. The teachers all seemed disinclined to help Umbridge and Flitwick said cheerfully "I would have done so Headmistress but I wasn't sure whether I had the authority to."

Finally there was one educational decree that put Raiden in serious trouble. He walked into the great hall one day for lunch and sat down. He took one sip of his pumpkin juice and felt an odd feeling slide over him before hearing his name called in a tone that put his danger sense on full alert. Turning round he saw Umbridge and Filch bearing down on him, with Umbridge wearing a self satisfied expression and Filch looking positively gleeful.

"Hem hem. I have just received Educational Decree number twenty-eight which gives me the right to reinstate the old ways of punishment as a way to break students that are too rebellious and who don't respond to the normal detentions," Umbridge recited, looking more and more pleased with herself. Behind her, Raiden could see the staff staring in sickened shock at the most recent decree as was the students. Getting an inkling of where this was going, Raiden began to back away from the two psychopaths in front of him. Filch was holding a nasty looking whip that Raiden didn't want anywhere near him.

"What does that have to do with me?" he said in a polite tone. Inwardly he was looking for escape routes; he had a very bad feeling about this.

Umbridge smirked. "Do you deny setting up the latest prank on my office door?" she said.

Raiden had done it but being a Slytherin, he lied through his teeth, or he tried to. The odd feeling made itself clear as he was forced to say, "Yes I did it." He then looked up at the staff in horror and said, "She dosed me with Veritaserum!"

"This is totally out of line!" McGonagall yelled, as did the rest of the staff.

Snape was beyond furious. "Dosing a minor with Veritaserum is dangerous! How much did you use?"

Umbridge smirked. "The entire vial, I wasn't going to chance Potter being immune to the normal dose." Snape looked shocked and stared at Raiden, who was starting to feel the effects of the overdose. His breathing was becoming labored and his pupils were dilating. Filch seized him by the arm and Raiden tried to retaliate but his limbs refused to obey him.

"Take him to the dungeons, Filch, he needs to be taught a lesson," Umbridge said, her eyes gleaming with a crazed madness that was terrifying to the students. Filch only got a few steps, dragging Raiden with him when there was a furious snarl at the door. A huge black dog leapt at Filch, while an Alsatian joined him and attacked Umbridge. A ferret nipped at tender parts of Filch's anatomy, causing the man to shriek with pain, while a python wound itself round the toad and started to constrict round her torso, cutting off her air.

While the two psychopaths were otherwise occupied Snape and McGonagall had freed Raiden from Filch's grip and quickly took him to the infirmary. Severus quickly poured several potions down the unconscious fifth year's throat with Poppy's help, stabilizing him while the Veritaserum worked its way out of his system. It was poisonous in too large a dose which was why the normal dose was three drops as it was a very powerful potion.

Once Umbridge and Filch were unconscious, the four animals transformed, revealing Sirius, Draco, Daphne and Blaise. Hermione was still struggling with the transformation and Raiden had been too sick to transform.

"Where's Harry?" Sirius asked urgently. He had come to Hogwarts as an Auror, called secretly by McGonagall to see what Umbridge was doing to the school, and had been able to hear the latest decree from outside the door, including who the first victim was going to be. When he'd heard the Veritaserum dosage he had lost his temper, thus leading to the attack.

"In the Infirmary, Severus and Poppy are stabilizing him now, Sirius. Did you teach those students to be Animagi?" Flitwick asked.

Sirius nodded. "Yes, Filius. Their forms are all registered with the Ministry, as is mine. We can't get in trouble over this." Spotting Severus entering the hall he made his way over. "Severus, is Harry alright?"

Snape looked at his old rival and saw the clear worry there. He softened slightly and replied "He will be. He's unconscious now, held that way by potions in order to give his body time to work the poison out of his system. We've set up a blood filtering system to hopefully work it out faster but he can't talk at present." Seeing the approaching panic in Sirius' eyes he sighed and snapped "He will live, Black, don't get your underwear in a knot. Deal with the psychopathic toad here will you?"

Sirius nodded grimly and revived Umbridge, wrapping her in enchanted rope to stop her getting away. "Dolores Jane Umbridge, you are hereby placed under arrest on charges of willfully endangering a minor, administering Ministry restricted potions without a proper licence, disrupting the education of the students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, using a classified torture implement on students of said school and generally making a nuisance of yourself. You have the right to remain silent. You do not have to say anything but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned anything that you later rely on in court. You have the right to an attorney; if you cannot afford one then one will be appointed for you. Do you understand these rights?"

Umbridge glared at him and then spat out, "Go to hell, Black. The Minister will back me up; Potter is an insane attention seeking liar!" Sirius glared at her and then roughly hauled her to her feet, attaching a Portkey to her as well as a list of the charges. She would stand trial later on. Sirius glared at Filch and then hauled the man to his feet, staring at him.

"Did he ever actually hurt anyone?" he asked the hall in general.

There was silence for a moment before Pomona Sprout said, "No he didn't. He was on her side but he didn't hurt anyone. Leave him be, Sirius."

Sirius nodded and shoved Filch away from him in disgust. "If no one minds, I think I'll go and check on my godson before I go and make sure that Umbridge is properly processed and the paperwork isn't mysteriously "lost" if you get my meaning." The staff nodded grimly and Sirius spun on his heel, heading for the hospital wing.

It nearly broke his heart, seeing Harry lying so still on the bed, the machines monitoring his heartbeat and breathing. They were powered by magic of course but they did their intended job. He felt a small amount of amusement that Umbridge was finished, and most probably the Minister too when Lucius got word of this, and he would too, Sirius had no intentions of keeping this from him. Once Lucius was finished destroying Umbridge and Fudge's political careers, it was more than likely that Voldemort would schedule a revel – a Death Eater torture party with Umbridge and Fudge as the entertainment. No one was allowed to touch Raiden, with the exception of a small few and Voldemort would take Raiden's poisoning as a personal insult. Oh yes, Fudge and Umbitch were screwed.

Three days after Umbridge's removal the Daily Prophet bore a front page headline

**MINISTRY UNDERSECRETARY ACCUSED OF ABUSE OF POWER**

_Dolores Jane Umbridge, Undersecretary to Minister Fudge has been accused of various crimes during her tenure at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Among the list of charges is the unauthorized use of Veritaserum on Harry James Potter who is still a minor. Umbridge allegedly gave Mr Potter a full vial when 3 drops is sufficient. This has had the unfortunate side effect of poisoning Mr Potter. Another charge is the alleged use of a blood quill, an implement classified by the Ministry as a torture implement and which the only legal use for is for signing certain contracts. Other charges will follow, as we find out more. What we want to know is why the Minister allowed Umbridge to try turning Hogwarts into her own personal empire. We all know that Potter is not in his right mind but that's no reason to poison him._

_By: Rita Skeeter_

"How nice" Raiden commented when he'd finished reading. The poison had worked itself out of his system late the night before so he was awake, if not a bit sore and annoyed at himself. "I'm going to have to learn a spell for checking my food and drink from now on apparently. No harm in being careful."

"Paranoid much?" Draco asked.

Raiden hissed at him and then replied blandly, "It's not paranoia if they really are out to get you, Argent. I'd rather not deal with something like this again, Lucius would kill me, or Sirius would."

Draco nodded in agreement, wondering what Voldemort's reaction was going to be. Whatever it was, it was going to be suitably vicious, something befitting a Dark Lord.

That night, as Raiden slept, he had an odd vision. A long corridor stretched out in front of him, the door at the end was open. As he moved along it, he got the odd sense that Voldemort wanted something in that room. He walked through it and saw a horrible sight, the Order of the Phoenix battling with Death Eaters, in a room with a lot of glass orbs. One orb in particular called to him, but before he could get it, he was swept up in the battle. Moving to a different room, he saw an old black veil, Sirius being blasted backwards through it, and not coming back.

Raiden sat upright in bed, breathing hard, as he yelled "SIRIUS!"


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter Thirty One: OWLs and the Ministry Battle**

While the Hogwarts students were preparing for final exams, Voldemort was busy planning his revenge on Umbridge for poisoning his apprentice and on Fudge for putting her at the school in the first place. Sirius was there, dressed in his Avenger robes but without the mask as Lucius and Severus were the only other Death Eaters present.

All four wizards were absolutely furious at the way that Umbridge had treated Raiden, and they were thinking about creative ways of torturing her.

"My Lord, may I ask a question?" Severus asked. Voldemort nodded so he went ahead. "What was with you turning up in Defence that day? I thought the whole idea of having Potter as your apprentice was to keep it secret. Now everyone thinks that he's got some sort of connection with you. Dumbledore doesn't know about it, he thinks that Potter owled you about the problem. I do know that he's tried Legilemency on him but so far his shields have held Dumbledore has no idea of the true nature of your relationship with him. Let's hope it stays that way."

Voldemort frowned. "You're right Severus, it was a bit hasty and ill thought out but I couldn't resist giving the Ministry a fright. Given the fact that they still aren't acknowledging my return I assume they don't believe what happened. They aren't willing to believe Dumbledore and no one knows of our plans so there's no harm done. I won't take a risk like that again though, it would be tempting fate. The only reason Dumbledore allowed me in was because I told him I wouldn't curse the students while I was there. He was amused, I think he didn't like Umbridge any more than we did."

"Did, my Lord?" Lucius asked.

Voldemort nodded. "She and Fudge aren't dead yet but they soon will be. We might as well start accelerating our plans. Do you have any politicians in mind that are both sympathetic to us and who might stand a chance of being nominated for Minister of Magic?"

Lucius was silent for a moment as he considered the politicians he had in his pocket. Finally he nodded. "Yes. There's a politician by the name of Rufus Scrimgeour. He used to be Head Auror. Dumbledore thinks that he's on the Light side but they don't get along, and Rufus is more sympathetic to us as long as we keep the deaths to a minimum and stay with our new plans."

Voldemort considered this information in silence, working out all the possibilities. "Hmm. By new plans I'm assuming you told him of our plans to remodel the wizarding world?"

Lucius nodded and replied, "Yes my Lord. Only in general terms of course. He agrees wholeheartedly with that, he has no real grudge against muggle-borns but he does agree that keeping magic strong should be our first priority and separating the worlds as much as possible would cut down on the time and effort put into Obliviation of muggles that accidentally discover our world. He doesn't want a war though; if we start moving towards that end then he'll mobilize the Aurors against us and join the Light. At best he's a neutral ally."

Voldemort nodded before asking "Will he keep quiet about us?"

Lucius nodded once more. "Yes he will, he knows that his promotion to Minister depends in part on me funding his campaign. He won't talk."

Voldemort smirked and the conversation turned back to the torture of Umbridge and Fudge.

Back at Hogwarts the fifth years were busy revising for the OWLs which were in one week. Raiden had told no one about the vision; he was waiting to contact Voldemort after the exams were over. He felt pretty good about most of his subjects, although he wasn't sure of Arithmancy, some of the concepts this year had been confusing. Potions was interesting and he loved it. Transfiguration too, was a mix of interesting and hard, while Charms was just fun. Finally he thought he'd done enough study for the day and put his books away. Sirius had been hired as a temporary DADA teacher for the rest of the year, and Dumbledore had been quickly reinstated as Headmaster. The school had settled down and the students had got back into the routine of classes and homework, unbothered by educational decrees which had all been overturned swiftly by the Ministry in an effort to save face and stop anyone from bringing lawsuits against them.

The weekend before OWLs started Raiden was called up to Dumbledore's office. Raiden sat down in the chair that was indicated and waited. Finally he got tired of waiting and said, "Headmaster, why am I here? I do have studying I need to do." Dumbledore smiled at him and replied, "I know Mr Potter, but your grades will be able to withstand one meeting I'm sure. I want to know why you owled Voldemort about Umbridge."

Raiden shrugged. He felt Dumbledore's light probe against his shields and let him in, letting him see Raiden writing a letter to Voldemort about Umbridge. He let Dumbledore see that he didn't believe that Voldemort would act on his idea and his surprise when Voldemort showed up. Raiden then felt the probe withdraw and Dumbledore leant back in his chair.

"I owled him about Umbridge, saying that she didn't believe me about his return. I said that I thought it would be funny if he showed up in Defence class to show her that I was telling the truth. I didn't expect him to do it though. Why did you allow him in?"

Dumbledore smiled benignly at him. "He promised not to curse anyone except Umbridge and I thought that if he showed himself here then we could get the Ministry to accept his return a bit quicker. As you know, that hasn't happened."

Raiden shrugged. "Yeah well, since when has the Ministry ever listened to anything that makes sense? I don't really care about it; I thought it was amusing though."

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes so did I. Voldemort, back when he was Tom Riddle was a brilliant student and if he hadn't gone dark he could have been an excellent teacher, in any subject really. Now, have you noticed anything unusual lately?"

Raiden frowned. "Unusual sir? Besides the Ministry trying to turn Hogwarts into an outpost of Fudge's office?"

Dumbledore chuckled at that but shook his head. "No I mean anything unusual centered on your scar. Any headaches, dreams, anything like that?"

Raiden frowned again. "No. The only headaches I've got are stress related from too much studying. OWLs are hell, and I imagine NEWTs are worse. Thank goodness we have sixth year as a break in between."

Seeing that Dumbledore looked thoughtful he asked, "Sir? Is there something I'm missing?"

Dumbledore shook his head and replied, "No, Harry, nothing. I'm just surprised that's all. I would have thought that the scar would be acting up with Voldemort's return."

Raiden was curious now. "Why do you think that sir? Is there some special significance to the scar? Come to think of it, I'm sure that many other parents died for their children in the last war and none of the other children survived. Is there some reason why I survived and they didn't?

Dumbledore frowned. "Yes there is Harry but I want to ask you to please wait on that until after your exams. I want you to be able to concentrate on them, and not on what I tell you. Speaking of exams I know you want to study so go ahead. I'll talk to you next week, after they've finished."

Raiden nodded and left, turning the conversation over in his mind. He had managed to make Dumbledore think that he'd owled Voldemort, his secret apprenticeship to the Dark Lord was still safe. It really was Voldemort's fault though; he didn't have to show up no matter how amusing it turned out to be. Shaking his head, Raiden went back to the common room, needing some sleep. Classes had ended in favor of exam revision a week ago and they'd been studying ever since. He felt like information was pouring out of his ears. The only exam he was unsure about was History of Magic. He hated goblin rebellions with a passion and Binns was better off being attached to the insomnia ward in St Mungo's, he had no doubt that the patients would be quickly cured of their condition.

Finally the exams came round. Their exams all had theory and practical parts with the exception of History of Magic, Ancient Runes and Arithmancy. The first exam was Potions and Raiden smirked as he saw a question on Polyjuice. He'd studied that particular potion quite extensively. Picking up his quill he began to write, hearing groans from his fellow students on some of the harder questions. Ron Weasley however was groaning at every question and it didn't take a genius to figure out that he'd left all his studying for every subject probably until the weekend that had just gone.

Once the theory was out of the way, which Raiden felt semi-confident on, it was time for the practical. They had to brew a confusing concoction, which was aptly named as there seemed to be no logic in the order of the ingredients, or the brewing instructions. Raiden's final product was a little thinner than it should have been but at least it was the right color and he handed it in with a sigh of relief. Next thing on the agenda was lunch and then the Charms OWL.

Charms went well, and Raiden was more confident on that than he had been on potions. In the theory he had been able to answer every question confidently and the practical was fun, making a pineapple tapdance across the desk for example. As the day finished and the Avengers met for dinner, Raiden felt his nervousness about the whole OWL period slipping away as he realized that the amount of study he'd done would probably be sufficient.

"NO! Harry, we're not going to revise the bloody constellations and moons of Jupiter one more time, you're more prepared than all of us put together! And we're not going to do Arithmancy or Ancient Runes study either! Just give it a rest!" Daphne snarled when he headed for his trunk to retrieve his Ancient Runes, Arithmancy and Astonomy books.

Raiden turned round and snapped back, "Excuse me if I'm not quite so confident of that fact as you are Daphne!"

Daphne stepped back a step, stunned that Raiden had snapped at her like that when he had never really yelled at her before. A few minutes passed and then Raiden turned round and said "Sorry Daphne, I didn't mean to snap at you. I just don't have your natural gift with these three subjects and its more work for me to maintain my near the top ranking than it is for you." He was about to say more when Daphne shut him up by wrapping him in a hug and kissing him. The two stayed locked together for about four minutes before letting go.

"Thanks," was all Raiden said, being occupied with refilling his lungs again.

Daphne smirked and replied, "No problem. Now, I know that it's more work for you but really, you're well prepared. How about a good night's rest? It's Ancient Runes and Astronomy tomorrow with the practical Astronomy being tomorrow night. Then it's Arithmancy and Herbology the next day, followed by Transfiguration and History of Magic. Our last exam is Defence so you'll end with your favorite subject. Just relax, you'll do fine."

Raiden didn't quite believe her but accepted another kiss and then went to bed, tossing restlessly until Voldemort opened their link to enquire as to what was going on. When he heard what was causing it the Dark Lord chuckled and repeated Daphne's words before sending a strong magical sleep suggestion down the link. Raiden's eyes rolled back in his head and he knew no more until the next morning.

Over the next few days the exams passed as well as could be expected. Ancient Runes was OK, a bit tricky in the translations but OK, Arithmancy had Raiden bitterly predicting a T until Draco hit him over the head and predicted that he'd get at least an E. Astronomy was fun, although the practical was not as fun as the theory. The questions were OK but the weather was bone chillingly cold. Herbology was messy but again fun, except for Blaise's unfortunate run in with a Venomous Tentacula. The Transfiguration exam had the students exiting the room muttering things like "My turtle was breathing steam, surely that's not normal." Raiden and the other Avengers were able to delight their examiners by transforming smoothly into their Animagus forms and back.

History of Magic was utterly boring as Raiden wrote down the answers to various questions on goblin rebellions and then smirked as his plan of reading about other parts of wizarding history paid off as the OWL didn't only cover goblin rebellions. The rest of the Avengers, plus the Ravenclaws were also happy about the exam. Those students that didn't pay attention to the other parts of history were moaning about this fact, although quietly as it was an exam. Raiden exited that exam and muttered to his friends, "I don't care what grade I get in that exam, I am never taking History again." His friends agreed with him, the exam had been boring and had utterly too much information to write down.

The last exam was Defence and the Avengers went into this one with huge grins on their faces to the confusion of many of the students who hadn't been part of Snape's DADA class. The questions seemed almost too simple, and Raiden excelled in the practical portion as his friends knew he would. He managed to get extra credit for his Patronus which the examiner whispered to him about as he was leaving. None of the students who had taken Snape's DADA class failed the exam Raiden found out later whereas a good few of the students who didn't take it, namely the Gryffindor fifth years, only got as high as an A on it.

Finally the exams were finished and the fifth years could relax. Raiden and the Avengers threw their books into their trunks and locked them; the rest of the year was just relaxing and recovering. With the exams over, Raiden decided to contact Voldemort about his strange dream/vision.

Lying in bed a couple of nights after the exams had finished, he opened their bond and tugged on it. Voldemort responded a few seconds later.

_Yes Raiden what is it? _he asked.

Raiden smiled, he'd missed this kind of contact with his master, surprising as it seemed. _A week or so before OWLs I had this strange vision Master. It was of a long corridor with a open door at the end. I went through the door and saw a large room with rows upon rows of glass spheres standing on shelves. The Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eaters were fighting in this room. One sphere called to me, I don't know why but then the vision changed. The battle moved to a different room, it was made of stone and there was an archway there with a fluttering black curtain. Sirius was fighting a Death Eater, I don't know who and he fell back through the veil and didn't return. Then the vision stopped._

Voldemort considered this carefully. As his spy in the Order of the Phoenix, Sirius had been ordered to fight against the Death Eaters in any battles that the two sides might have. The part about the glass spheres was interesting; apparently Raiden was being called to the prophecy room. Sensing that his apprentice was getting impatient he returned to the conversation.

_There is a room in the Department of Mysteries, a room called the Hall of Prophecies. It is where a record is kept of every prophecy that is ever made. Only the subject of a prophecy can remove it from the shelf. I was planning a raid on that hall. There is a prophecy about the two of us, one that I want to get hold of. I know the first part but not the second. Has Dumbledore told you any of this?_

Raiden scowled. _Not yet but we did have a conversation about something that he needed to tell me, something that he would tell me after the OWLs. When is the raid happening? Can I take part in it?_

Voldemort chuckled. _I was planning on asking you if you'd like to go retrieve the prophecy for us. I can't waltz into the Ministry of Magic, despite my waltzing into Hogwarts earlier in the year, and we need that prophecy. What about it – do you want this to be your first mission?_

Raiden smiled. _Yes Master I accept. Will the Death Eaters be there too?_

_Some will be. They will be a guard for you; although I have no doubt that the Order of the Phoenix will be there as well. The battle will probably be due to the Order wanting to protect you from the Death Eaters while the Death Eaters will be doing the same against the Order. Go as Harry Potter, they will be instructed not to harm you and I don't want to reveal your apprenticeship yet._

_Yes Master. When should I do this and should I take my friends with me?_

_As soon as possible but do not take your friends. I can't guarantee their safety if they go._

_Yes Master. Did you do anything with Umbitch and Fudge?_

_(chuckle) They're currently in the dungeons of Riddle Manor, they're going to be the entertainment tonight at the Revel – the new recruits have to have someone to practice on after all._

Raiden broke the connection with a chuckle; he knew that Umbridge and Fudge would most probably end up dead but now the problem of how to get to the Ministry of Magic and into the prophecy hall presented itself. Finally he remembered the conversation with Dumbledore and decided to cement his "Boy-Who-Lived" image and take the vision to him.

Accordingly, ten minutes later Raiden found himself in Dumbledore's office. Looking panicky and upset, which was an act but Dumbledore didn't know that, he said, "Sir, I, I had an odd dream just now, it was about a long corridor, then a room with lots of little glass balls in them. There was a battle with Death Eaters, Sirius is in trouble! Please, is he OK?"

Dumbledore looked over top of his glasses at Raiden. It was as he had feared; the connection that had formed with the failed killing curse had finally started to act up. It wasn't Harry's fault, he mused, although being connected to the Dark Lord in such a way would no doubt give the child nightmares. This dream needed to be investigated.

"Calm down, Harry, I'm sure that Sirius is perfectly fine. The Order is guarding that room that you saw, and the Death Eaters won't attack, not that deep inside the Ministry itself." Just then a light began flashing on his desk and the old wizard looked at it in alarm. "Of course I have been wrong before," he muttered. Seeing Raiden's pleading look he took the boy's hand.

"I know you can fight, your Defence OWL proved that quite admirably. Stay near Order members and out of the line of fire. Do you understand?"

Raiden nodded. "Yes sir," he replied. Dumbledore nodded before grasping Fawkes' tail feathers and they were taken into the middle of the battle. Raiden immediately ducked an ugly looking purple spell and fired back a strong stunner. Harry Potter couldn't use the Dark Arts so Raiden was restricted to using so called "Light" magic which was bloody annoying for him.

He ducked and dodged, cursing any Death Eater that came too close, having to keep up his pretence of being on the "good" side. The Death Eaters returned fire, although keeping the curses to those that he could counter. One of their masks slipped and Raiden recognized Lucius at once. They stared at each other for a second before Lucius readjusted his mask and began shooting curses again. The two dueled rapidly, although Raiden was tiring, Lucius wasn't in Voldemort's inner circle for nothing, but he put up a good fight. He allowed himself to be driven back into the prophecy hall and started searching for the elusive little sphere that he needed.

The Order was driven back as well, even though Dumbledore was there. Raiden retrieved his sphere, just as the battle grew ugly. Bellatrix Lestrange came upon Raiden, who had been fighting back to back with Sirius for the past few minutes. They dived apart as a curse was fired at them and Sirius immediately cursed her back. The two cousins dueled rapidly, their wands flying as they used a mix of spoken and silent magic in the battle. The duel moved to the other room from Raiden's vision and he threw himself into the fray, trying to move Sirius away from the veil. It was no good though. Bellatrix threw a blasting curse at Raiden, who blocked it but stumbled backwards into Sirius. Sirius had been standing to the side of the veil, not directly in front of it but the impetus of Raiden's unexpected collision with him, and the fact that he'd stepped sideways into the path of a stunner from Bellatrix, meant that he lost his balance and fell backwards. Raiden swung round in shock as Sirius disappeared through the veil, and didn't come back.

Those in the other rooms heard a scream of rage and grief from Raiden, one single word amplified to almost painful proportions.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Voldemort felt the burst of rage and grief over the bond with Raiden and frowned. As the pain got worse, the Dark Lord scowled until finally he stood and grabbed his wand. To hell with staying out of the Ministry, it looked as though Raiden's first mission had failed in some manner and he wasn't about to let that prophecy get away from them. Gathering his concentration he Apparated to the Ministry building.

Bellatrix smirked at Raiden and twirled her wand in her fingers. "Oh is poor baby Potter missing his godfather?" she taunted. Raiden stared at her, hatred and anger coursing through his veins and filling him up like never before. He needed an outlet for his emotions and what better than cursing the one who'd caused him such pain.

He started throwing curses at Bellatrix so fast that she barely had time to react. She fled, with Raiden in hot pursuit, not thinking of anything but revenge on his godfather's killer. Bellatrix tripped over and fell heavily, lying stunned for a few seconds. When she tried to get up she found Raiden's wand pointed at her heart. He vaguely noticed that they'd reached the Ministry atrium.

"What are you going to do widdle Potter," she sneered. "You don't have the stomach for the Dark Arts."

She was unnerved to see a decidedly evil smirk on Raiden's face as he whispered, "Oh yeah? Crucio!"

He poured all his hatred, all his anger and all his grief into that curse, and it worked. The Light side watched in horror as the Boy Who Lived tortured Bellatrix but they all knew what the circumstances were. They were shocked that the curse was working though, it really shouldn't have done. Dumbledore was quickly fabricating a way to keep Raiden out of prison. There was precedent for a person who was overcome by grief and rage at the loss of a loved one using Unforgivables on the attacker however rare it might be.

A banishing curse threw Raiden away from Bellatrix as a cold voice announced, "No one tortures my followers but me, Potter!" The Order of the Phoenix whirled round to see Voldemort standing in the room, wand out and pointed right at Raiden. Raiden growled and staggered to his feet, the Cruciatus having drained him somewhat badly, on top of the fight beforehand. Wand in hand he faced his master, although to the Order members it looked like a confrontation between mortal enemies than a confrontation between master and apprentice.

"She killed my godfather!" Raiden informed Voldemort in a voice that was shaking with rage before he did something very stupid. He fired a bone crushing hex at Voldemort.

The Dark Lord stepped out of the way and growled, "If you want a duel Potter then by all means let's have one. Let's see if you can stop this!"

Voldemort and Raiden dueled for about five minutes, with Voldemort getting closer and closer to Raiden with each step. Given that he'd backed his apprentice into a corner of the room this was easy to do and soon Voldemort was within arm's reach of his student.

Without pausing, Voldemort plucked Raiden's wand from his hand and grabbed his arm, pulling him out into the centre of the room. Wrapping an arm round the struggling fifteen year old, Voldemort was able to hold him still and then he faced the Order of the Phoenix, all of whom were standing dead still, not wanting Voldemort to kill Raiden. The other Death Eaters had been captured, killed or had escaped while Voldemort and Raiden were dueling so Voldemort and Bellatrix were the only "known" Dark Side members there. Dumbledore stepped forward at that point and tried to reason with the Dark Lord.

"Tom let him go. He hasn't done anything to you," he tried.

Voldemort snorted. "Done nothing? He's only incapacitated one of my chief followers. No Dumbledore, I won't kill him. I do, however, need to punish him for what he did to Bellatrix." With that he kept his arm clamped firmly round Raiden's chest, and touched Raiden's scar with one finger, activating the pain receptors once more. Raiden screamed with pain as his scar burst open and blood poured down his face. Voldemort kept his finger on the scar for 3 minutes, not letting up even though Raiden was doing a good job of screaming himself hoarse. Finally, when Raiden was almost unconscious Voldemort released him, shoving him towards Dumbledore almost contemptuously.

"He'll be alright in a few days." As the Order, and Dumbledore fired curses at him, Voldemort levitated Bellatrix and then vanished, breaking through the Ministry's secure anti apparition wards with a little bit of effort. Left behind was a large Dark Mark. The Order was left standing in the Ministry atrium, with an almost unconscious Harry Potter, and Ministry Aurors rapidly coming in. Dumbledore quickly made Portkeys for everyone taking them back to Grimmauld Place. The Portkey for himself and Harry however, took them back to his office.

Raiden collapsed to the floor, shuddering at the aftereffects of his master's punishment and the grief over Sirius. Finally he looked up at Dumbledore, seeing a grave look on his face.

"Harry, why did you use the Cruciatus curse on Bellatrix?" he asked.

Raiden blinked and then replied, "I don't know. I wasn't thinking, I was focusing on my grief, anger and hate and it just came out. I wanted her to hurt as much as I was hurting."

Dumbledore nodded. "There won't be any official repercussions from this Harry; there is precedent for what you did. It is saddening though, that you were filled with enough rage, enough hate to make that curse work." Seeing Raiden's eyes start to gleam with anger again he held up his hands. "I know you loved Sirius deeply, I just underestimated the amount of power you have that's all. Not many fifteen year olds could have made that curse work, in fact, no other fifteen year old could have."

Sighing, he said, "Sit down Harry, it's time that I told you what I should have told you before. The reason that you went to the hall of prophecies, the reason that you survived a killing curse when no other person did."

Raiden listened intently as Dumbledore proceeded to turn his world upside down.


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter Thirty Two: The Prophecy and a Sirius Discussion**

Raiden sat in the chair opposite Dumbledore and watched the proceedings intently. Dumbledore got his Pensieve down from a shelf and sat it on the desk so it was between them.

"Do you know what this is, Harry?" he asked.

Raiden nodded. "Yes sir, it's a Pensieve" he replied, wondering what it had to do with anything.

Dumbledore sensed his confusion and explained, "The reason you survived the killing curse, when no one else did was due to a prophecy made a few months or so before your birth. One copy was kept in the hall of prophecies that you were in tonight, and the only other copy is in here."

"Why would the other copy be in your Pensieve sir?" Raiden questioned, interested, despite the still simmering anger, grief and tiredness that was threatening to engulf him.

Dumbledore smiled and said, "Because the prophecy was made by our Divination Professor, Sybil Trelawney, and I heard it. It was when I was interviewing her for the post of Divination professor actually. Shall we take a look?"

Dumbledore tapped the bowl with his wand and smoky figures rose above the bowl. "Myself and Sybil in the Hog's Head in Hogsmeade. She is just about to go into the trance."

As they watched, Trelawney went into a trance and spoke the prophecy. _"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches… born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…and the Dark Lord shall mark him as his equal but he shall have power the Dark Lord knows not…and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives…the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…"_

Raiden shoved himself away from the desk and stood, trembling. He couldn't believe it, didn't want to believe it. He loathed Divination, thought it was a load of crap. He couldn't believe that he was destined to kill his mentor, the person that had taught him about magic. Without pausing, he turned and threw up into the wastebasket. Dumbledore watched with a hint of sadness in his eyes, and vanished the mess without a word afterwards.

"It's, it's not true. I refuse to believe that I have to kill him or be killed by him. Are you sure it's me Professor?" Raiden said, a hint of desperation entering his voice. Dumbledore nodded gravely and rose, coming over beside Raiden, who had fallen to his knees, unable to remain standing. He gently traced the lightning bolt scar, still red and inflamed from Voldemort's harsh treatment of it.

"Yes Harry, I'm afraid it is you. It could have been Neville Longbottom, his birthday is on the same day as yours but you were born late at night, you were born just as midnight struck. Also, Voldemort himself chose you. He doesn't know the full prophecy; he only knows the first part of it. He knows the part about a boy born in July having the power to kill him. When he came to kill you on Halloween, he thought he was fulfilling the prophecy but he was only setting the terms as it were. He chose you Harry, and you have to kill him. Not right now, you're not powerful enough yet but someday you will be his equal and then you will be able to kill him."

Raiden held up a hand, requesting silence and Dumbledore gave it to him. His mind was whirling, he had to find some way round it, he absolutely refused to kill his master.

'But would your master refuse to kill you?' a tiny voice whispered in the back of his mind. Raiden ruthlessly squashed that thought, Voldemort might be harsh with him at times but the Dark Lord did care about him. In his own way, Voldemort loved him, and yes he was capable of love, he just didn't show that side of himself to anyone other than Raiden and Nagini. Finally he looked up, and then rose from the floor, his knees protesting at the movement. Looking Dumbledore straight in the eyes he said, "I need time to think Professor, may I go to my dorm?"

Dumbledore nodded and released him, sighing deeply once Raiden had left. The amount of anger simmering inside the younger wizard seemed to have decreased at least a tiny amount but it was still there, like a powder keg just waiting to explode.

'If Harry should ever go Dark I wouldn't like to be in a fight against him' Dumbledore thought to himself before looking over at Fawkes, who gave a mournful trill in agreement.

Raiden didn't function very well over the last two days of school. Fortunately, Snape was Portkeying Draco and Raiden back to Malfoy Manor rather than them taking the train. Once the Portkey had finished, Raiden greeted Lucius and Narcissa rather listlessly and then headed for his room, where he flopped down on his bed and stared at the ceiling with a sightless gaze.

Down below, Draco was confused. "What's got into him? He went with Dumbledore to the Ministry, there was a battle, I know that much. Then he had a conversation with Dumbledore afterwards. He's, it's like he's broken in a way."

Lucius, Narcissa and Severus exchanged glances before leading Draco into the sitting room and sitting down on the chairs there. Fixing Draco with a serious look, Lucius said quietly, "At the battle, Harry dueled me, and the other Death Eaters, before grabbing the thing that our Lord sent him to get. Sirius was fighting with the Order of the Phoenix, as our Lord ordered him to do. During the battle, we moved into the death chamber in the Department of Mysteries, where the Veil of Death is kept and your aunt Bellatrix stunned Sirius. He fell backwards through the veil. Harry lost it at that point, Draco, he ran after Bellatrix, and Crucioed her."

Draco looked impressed. "Wow, I thought the only person who could do that was our Lord."

Nods greeted his statement and Snape added, "Yes, so did we. However, Harry wasn't letting up, and if the Dark Lord hadn't blasted him away from her, your aunt might well have ended up in a bed across from Longbottom's parents in St Mungo's. She still might if Harry sees her before his temper has a chance to cool down. Harry dueled the Dark Lord for five minutes before being backed into a corner. The Dark Lord was not pleased at his use of an Unforgivable and punished him before taking Bellatrix and apparating out of the Ministry. Dumbledore took Harry back to his office and talked with him, about what I don't know. You'd need to find that out from Harry."

Draco immediately got up. "I'll go find out then, he can't keep it bottled up inside like this, it'll kill him."

He was about to leave the room when a tired voice said, "Don't bother, I'm here."

Raiden was standing in the doorway, his eyes bloodshot and his whole posture screaming of some inner turmoil that needed to be released but had no outlet at present. Narcissa rose from her chair and enveloped him in a hug, and Raiden clung to her like a lifeline. Narcissa gently steered the two of them over to the couch where she held him until he was ready to tell them what was bothering him.

With a small sniff, Raiden sat up straight again and then asked, "How many of you believe in prophecy and destiny and all that stuff?"

There was silence from his audience before Lucius answered, "None of us. We believe that a person chooses their own path in life, and nothing can influence it except for the choices that that person makes. Why do you ask?"

Raiden locked eyes with those of his guardian and smiled humorlessly. "Dumbledore told me why I'm the Boy Who Lived tonight. He said that the reason I survived a killing curse was because of a prophecy that that stupid old bat Trelawney made before I was born."

"And what did that prophecy say, Harry?" Lucius questioned softly.

Raiden shrugged and recited the prophecy in full. When he was finished he looked at them and said, "I can't do it. I can't kill him, he's my mentor, he's the one who taught me to use magic for Merlin's sake! How am I supposed to face him now, knowing that I'm the one that will be his downfall?"

A stinging hex hit him at that point, thrown by an annoyed looking Snape. "Snap out of it, Potter, that prophecy is very vague. Besides, have you thought that it might already have come to pass?"

Now Raiden glanced at him with a startled expression. "How?" he asked.

Snape smirked at him before replying, "We all know that for all intents and purposes, Harry Potter died when you took the name Raiden. You answer to it in school and such places because it's not the right time to reveal yourself as our Lord's apprentice yet. The two of you seem to be doing a good job of co-existing at the moment, so stop the pity party!"

Raiden blinked a couple of times, processing the rather forceful statement by his head of house before he smiled. "Thank you sir," he said softly, the weight lifting off him as he realized that Snape was most probably right. He then slipped back into depression as he remembered Sirius and his untimely demise.

"Now what though? Sirius is still dead" he muttered.

The adults looked at each other before there was a soft cough from Lucius. "Actually, our Lord requested your presence as soon as you were fit to talk. He wants to discuss some things with you, and Sirius is one of them. He told me to Apparate you over as soon as you were ready."

Raiden shrugged and stood. "I'll get changed then," was all he said before he disappeared up to his room to change into his Avenger robes, he didn't know if any other Death Eaters would be there and he didn't want his identity being revealed by accident. Once he came downstairs again, Lucius swiftly Apparated them to Riddle Manor.

Raiden was shown to Voldemort's study where he found the Dark Lord writing something on a scroll of parchment. He sat down and waited patiently for his master to acknowledge his presence. Voldemort finally finished what he was doing and looked up, frowning when he saw his apprentice's attire.

"I did not expect you to come in those robes, Raiden," he commented.

Raiden shrugged. "I didn't know whether it would just be the two of us here or not and I didn't want my identity revealed by accident, Master," he replied. Voldemort frowned again before nodding in agreement.

"You're right. However, it is just the two of us so take off the robe and mask, and get comfortable. I want to talk to you about what happened in the Ministry."

Raiden winced; he'd been hoping to have a bit more time to recover before discussing it. Apparently that wasn't to be. After he rearranged his clothing to be more comfortable he waited for the discussion to begin.

"Did you manage to get the prophecy I sent you to get?" Voldemort asked neutrally.

He was pleased when Raiden nodded. "Yes Master. The ball is still at Malfoy Manor but Dumbledore had a copy of it in his Pensieve. Are, are you sure you want to know it?"

Raiden was now nervous and unsure of himself. He didn't know how Voldemort was going to react. He tried to hide his unease but Voldemort picked up on it anyway.

"What's got you so nervous Raiden?" he asked.

Raiden shrugged and recited the prophecy once more.

Voldemort leant back in his chair and stared at his apprentice with a neutral expression. "You thought I might try to kill you when I knew the full contents of the prophecy" he stated with no emotion in his voice.

Raiden nodded and then hastily added, "For a second or two that's all."

Voldemort shook his head. "Prophecies do not have to be taken literally, Raiden, there are many ways to vanquish a person without killing them, and who's to say the prophecy hasn't already been sidestepped, what with you being my apprentice and being renamed as Raiden. Not all prophecies come true, most of those prophecies in that hall are from thousands of years ago and they have never, to my knowledge come to pass. It's useful to know, but it's nothing to panic over. Besides, we're both alive and coexisting quite nicely so that rather puts a spanner in the works if the prophecy is true does it not?"

Raiden gave a small grin and said, "That's what Severus said."

Voldemort smirked and said, "Yes well, he is an intelligent person." Growing serious again, he said, "Now that we've got the prophecy out of the way, we need to discuss your appalling habit of disobeying me when you lose control of your emotions. I seem to recall punishing you on the night of my return for using the killing curse, and now, I have had to punish you again for using the Cruciatus on Bellatrix. You know, when people start learning the Unforgivables they generally start with the Imperius curse, not the Killing Curse. You're going backwards."

Raiden smirked slightly but it faded when he realized that Voldemort wasn't really amused at the situation. "I'm sorry Master but she taunted me about killing Sirius and I, I loved him. I know I overreacted but if I'd used any other Dark Arts curse there would have been questions of where I'd learnt it. At least with the Cruciatus, we'd learnt the incantation in fourth year, as well as what it does. It's not unheard of for people to use an Unforgivable on a loved one's attacker when overcome by grief and/or rage. Dumbledore even said that there wouldn't be any official repercussions from it."

Voldemort scowled. "Not from him, maybe. From me, however there will be."

Raiden looked somewhat wary at this and said, "But you already punished me for it and in front of almost all of the Order of the Fried Turkey too. Don't you think that's enough?"

Voldemort narrowed his eyes and suddenly Raiden found himself held immobile and his wand was in Voldemort's hand. Lashing out with wandless magic Raiden tried to free himself but found that his master was too strong for him, even though he was powerful for his age.

"No I do not," Voldemort commented, watching Raiden struggles with dark amusement. "I was considering Crucioing you for the same amount of time that you held Bellatrix under it but you would be insane at the halfway point. Therefore, I will be demonstrating the finer points of creative torture that doesn't leave permanent marks, on you. Starting now."

Before Raiden could so much as protest he found himself hanging upside down in mid air, with his master's wand pointed straight at him. Voldemort walked round his upside down apprentice and ignored the foul language coming from his mouth until Raiden finally hissed one insult too many and he snapped.

The torture began with Raiden experiencing the highly unpleasant and very odd sensation of having one's mouth washed out whilst being upside down. With soap dribbling out his mouth thanks to the scourgify charm, the curses were unintelligible which was the effect that Voldemort wanted. With a smirk, the Dark Lord continued the lesson.

"Now, this little curse is particularly effective," he lectured, still walking round his captive audience of one. Raiden was fuming over the humiliation of being flipped upside down and having his mouth washed out but he did listen.

"It causes the victim to feel as though they're burning alive, by overheating the body. The incantation is _Fervefacio corpus_. Voldemort directed the curse so it struck Raiden in the leg. He smirked as Raiden bit back a curse, and twisted in his invisible bonds. The curse was working, Raiden felt as though his leg was on fire. Through pained hisses, and the mouthful of soap he was still dealing with he spluttered, "Please, Master, stop."

Voldemort shrugged and ended the curse, following it with a cooling charm to reverse the effects. He wanted to teach Raiden a lesson, not permanently damage him after all. Examining the area of the leg that he'd cursed he was pleased to see not one mark. Smiling in an evil fashion, he started teaching Raiden several other curses and hexes, all the while using Raiden as the practice dummy. Finally after an hour, he decided that Raiden had had enough and let him down.

Raiden landed on the floor in an undignified sprawl, just barely avoiding landing on his head. Slowly and painfully he righted himself and then sat back down in his chair. He glared at Voldemort and muttered, "I hate you."

His master merely laughed and replied, "No you don't. You hate what I did to you; there is a difference you know. Now, are you going to start swearing at me again or do I have to scourgify your mouth a second time?"

Raiden spluttered in shock before shaking his head. "No I'm not. And I wasn't swearing at you I was swearing at the situation I was in. Was that whole torture session simply because I used the Cruciatus curse?"

Voldemort shrugged. "Half of it was, yes. I would have stopped after the organ liquefaction curse if you hadn't sworn at me so much. The second half of it was because you couldn't keep your mouth shut. Didn't you have fun learning those curses though?"

Raiden glared at his master again and then muttered resentfully, "It would have been better if Bellatrix had been the practice dummy. Does she know the real reason I cursed her in the Ministry?"

Voldemort shook his head. "No. I cursed her again myself, once we got back here, and told her it was because I was trying to get him over to our side. She thinks he was just a potential ally. She will learn the truth however, when we get Sirius back."

"Wait; did you just say get Sirius back?" Raiden questioned. Voldemort nodded a small smile on his face. Raiden shook his head confused. "I thought that veil was used as a way to execute criminals until the Dementor's Kiss was legalized as the official ultimate sentence. How can we get him back, or can you really reverse death?"

Voldemort chuckled. "No I can't reverse death Raiden, but Sirius was only stunned when he went through. I was reading old notes that the Department of Mysteries workers have made on the veil and I discovered something very interesting in a tiny footnote at the bottom of one scroll. He pulled it over and gestured for Raiden to take a look.

"I can't read it Master, it's almost illegible" Raiden finally said, confused.

Voldemort nodded. "I had to use several charms in order to be able to read it but essentially it says that the veil was thought to be a portal to the realm of the dead, but it isn't. What it is, is a sort of holding place, limbo if you will. The person is stuck there, between life and death, for one year. If, in one year's time, that person's loved one, or ones come to the veil room on the exact same date that the person went through the veil, and it must be the exact date Raiden, and speak a particular incantation then that person will come back."

"What happens if that one year date passes?" Raiden enquired.

Voldemort smirked. "Then the normal effects of not eating or drinking anything for a year catch up with the person and they do die. The limbo effect only lasts for one year."

Raiden slowly smiled, which grew to a massive grin. "So you're saying that in one year, we can get Sirius back?"

Voldemort nodded but held up a hand. "Slowly, Raiden. Now we have to figure out how to get into the Department of Mysteries and into that room on that specific date. If we can't do that then Sirius will be dead and gone. Don't get your hopes up too far."

Raiden nodded, his momentary good humor evaporating. He looked up and then smirked before asking, "How did the original researchers figure this out?"

Voldemort smirked back and replied, "Trial and error. The incantation was the easy part; the one year part was a fluke discovery. Turns out a criminal who they'd sent through the veil returned when a researcher who was part of their family spoke the incantation in front of the veil. It was quite by accident that it was exactly one year since the criminal's supposed death, and no one was more shocked than that poor researcher. The crook was, however, guilty of their crime so the researcher promptly used the killing curse on them and threw the body back through the veil. The researcher never spoke of the phenomenon, and only recorded it in this footnote that I showed you, along with the incantation, for historic record. Because the phenomenon was never officially recorded, the veil continued to be used for executions and is to this day thought of as the Veil of Death. Only that researcher, and now us, know the truth."

Raiden chuckled, before saying, "Well that's good news then. Magic can really be surprising at times."

Voldemort nodded. "I quite agree. Now, to discuss your ongoing training. Your school marks have been quite impressive so far and I'm looking forward to seeing what OWL results you get. I want you to continue those marks if you can please, and I'll speak with Lucius and Severus regarding stepping up yours and Draco's Dark Arts lessons. You need to be trained to be a leader and Draco needs to be trained to be your right hand. I know you'll be the leader of my intelligence division but I'll also train you in strategy and other things so if I by some mischance do die, you'll be able to take over the Death Eaters and carry on our work. Draco will also receive some of that training as well, in order to take his father's place if you have to take mine. I will explain how I managed to survive as a spirit all those years ago as well. For now though, I will tell you that Fudge and Umbridge died very painfully and very slowly, their mangled bodies were hung up over the entrance to the Ministry building last night. Rufus Scrimgeour is going to be the new Minister of Magic, and he is our neutral ally."

"Neutral ally Master?" Raiden asked, puzzled.

Voldemort nodded. "Yes. He is on our side as long as we stick to our revised goals. The moment he gets any hint that we're still doing our mass muggle killings and other such things, he will join our enemies and mobilize the Ministry against us. We don't want that so I will be announcing at the next meeting that all muggle killings will stop, and I will explain our new goals."

Raiden nodded thoughtfully. "What happens if the Death Eaters don't like that? I know that the more fanatical ones will die before changing their views. They view muggle torture as sport for Merlin's sake."

Voldemort sighed. "If you have an idea of how to get rid of them then by all means please do share" he said sarcastically. Raiden smirked and leaned forward. "Well, I do have one idea" he said. As he outlined his plan, Voldemort's smirk grew larger and larger. It would take time to implement, and careful planning to weed out the truly fanatical, unchangeable Death Eaters but over time, all the Death Eaters that did not agree with the revised goals would be removed and no longer able to be threats. Raiden spent that night at Riddle Manor, as it had grown late during their meeting. When the two Dark Lords finally went to bed, they both had smiles on their faces as they saw for the first time that their plan to change the wizarding world was actually achievable.


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter Thirty Three: Arguments, OWL's and a New Recruit**

"I don't want to learn from that bitch!" Raiden spat as he paced round the study in Riddle Manor.

Voldemort leaned back in his chair and replied, "She is one of my best Death Eaters, Raiden, you can't let personal feelings get in the way of your education."

"Education? She'll drive me insane!" Raiden hissed back.

Voldemort let out a low growl and snapped "Enough! You will learn from Bellatrix and if you give her any trouble I'll curse you myself. You can't let the fact that she sent Sirius through the veil stop you from learning from her. You know as well as I do that we can get Sirius back so it's not as if she killed him."

Raiden spun round and faced Voldemort, too angry to care that he was in danger of being cursed for disrespect before snarling "I. Will. Not. Have. Her. As. An. Instructor. I'd rather learn from a drunken House Elf than that insane cow!"

The next thing he knew was pain. Voldemort had moved so fast he hadn't seen the movement of his wand. The Cruciatus was just as painful as he remembered it being previously, and this time it was held longer. After a minute and a half Voldemort ended it and watched coolly as Raiden struggled to find his feet. The almost sixteen year old Dark Lord in training hissed in pain as he sat back down, his body protesting at the movement, small shakes in his limbs betraying the intensity at which the curse had been cast. Voldemort waited until Raiden met his eyes again at which point he said, "I hope I've made my point clear on this matter? You will learn from Bellatrix, she can teach you things that Lucius and Severus can't, and you will leave your personal feelings and grudges out of it. Understand?"

Raiden hesitated for a moment before muttering resentfully "Yes." A powerful stinging hex hit him and he amended his answer to "Yes Master." Voldemort glared at him and then tucked his wand up his sleeve.

"Your other instructors apart from Bellatrix will be Lucius, Severus and myself. Your training will cover things like politics, stealth, Dark Arts, fencing, potions, finances, dueling and other things. Most of the training will cover things needed for you to be able to hold your own when you reveal yourself as my apprentice and second in command. Other parts of your training will cover what you need to know as the heir of a pureblood family. As the last of the Potters you will be taking full control of your affairs when you turn seventeen next year and you need to learn to manage them. Draco will also be taking some of those lessons too, although as his father is still alive he won't have as many duties to deal with as you will."

Raiden shifted in his seat, wincing slightly as still sore muscles protested a bit before going quiet. He could have done with a post Cruciatus potion but Voldemort wouldn't allow him to have one until they were finished. Ignoring the pain for the moment, he asked a question that had sprung up in his mind moments before.

"If I am revealed as your apprentice and second in command, the Ministry might well try to freeze my accounts. How am I supposed to manage them if I can't actually get to them?"

Voldemort smirked. "The goblins don't care too much about Ministry politics, Raiden. They only freeze accounts if it's absolutely necessary and if it's at the request of the vault owner. Your godfather was able to access his money while on the run, so you'll be able to as well. Although, it brings up a good point" he trailed off as an idea occurred to him.

"Master? What are you thinking?" Raiden asked.

Voldemort smirked at him. "I was just thinking that we have two possible routes here. One, we could have the Prophecy being fulfilled and Harry Potter dying – we'd make a golem of you and then I'd kill it, thus satisfying the prediction. Or we could go the Star Wars route and have you publicly turn from the Light, crushing Dumbledore and his Order and demoralizing them quite nicely. After all, Dumbledore would be horrified to discover that you were never Light in the first place."

Raiden thought about it for a few minutes and then smirked back at his master. "I prefer the Star Wars route Master. It's simpler and less hassle with identities. Also, what about doing it on graduation? You turn up with the Death Eaters, under instructions not to kill anyone except Dumbledore and any of the Order of the Phoenix who resist. Then when Dumbledore and everyone else looks to me to save them from the big bad Dark Lord and his minions, I'll walk across and join you. We might as well call our Order spies over to us at the same time, to save any more confusion over loyalties. If we word it just right we might be able to subvert quite a few Order members and can you imagine the look on Dumbledore's face when Sirius and Remus join us?"

Voldemort thought over the plan and then smiled. "Brilliant. We'll go with that then, and finalise the details as we get closer to the time. Will Remus join us?"

Raiden shrugged. "Sirius was working on him before he went through the veil. I haven't spoken to him since that happened yet, I imagine that if we were to tell him the truth, tell him that we can get Sirius back that we might have a new member. He, like Sirius will probably want to join the Avengers though. He's really too mild mannered to be a Death Eater but gathering information and assembling it would be a perfect job for him. He's like Hermione in a way – both of them are Gryffindors that would probably be more suited to Ravenclaw."

Voldemort nodded in agreement and the two fell silent. Finally Raiden looked up at his master and asked, "So what will Bitchatrix – ah I mean Bellatrix, be teaching me?"

Voldemort smirked at his apprentice's slip of the tongue and said, "How to use spells other than Dark Arts in dueling. Things like transfiguration, charms, household spells, etc etc. You can cause a person quite a lot of harm with those you know."

Raiden grinned and nodded back, his mind already thinking up ways of harming his unwanted tutor without leaving obvious clues. 'Or' he thought to himself, 'maybe letting her teach me some things and then turning them against her, I can always say that it wasn't my fault that she let herself be surpassed by her pupil.' Smirking inwardly at the thought of being rid of the bitch that had deprived him of Sirius for a year, he listened attentively as Voldemort outlined his plans for the upcoming school year.

When he returned to Malfoy Manor he walked straight into another argument, this one between Lucius and Draco. Sighing, he walked round the bickering pair, shaking his head when neither bothered to say hello and went to the library. After attempting to read a book and being distracted by the row outside the door he decided to eavesdrop.

"I WILL NOT MARRY THAT COW!" Draco yelled at the top of his lungs. Raiden shook his head again, surmising that the argument was about the marriage contract between the Malfoy and Parkinson families, which had Pansy betrothed to Draco.

Lucius hissed in a manner not unlike his Animagus form and snapped back, "Draco! I've had enough of your two year old style tantrums on this matter. The match with the Parkinson's is a good one; I don't know why you're complaining."

Draco sighed, lowering his voice to a more conversational tone and volume and replied, "Because Father, I was thinking about it. In terms of magical strength it is a good match but what about succession? Our family isn't particularly fertile, the last few Malfoy generations have produced at most two children per generation, and the Parkinson's are about as fertile as us. What if Pansy and I are unable to conceive? Plus she's not exactly pretty, hardly someone I'd be able to take to a party and she's not very intelligent. I want someone I can actually talk to, and know that they understand what I'm saying. Most of the advanced concepts are over Pansy's head a lot of the time and she got heaps of tutoring for the OWL's. This year and next will only be worse."

Lucius sat down abruptly; he hadn't considered that side of things. He acknowledged Draco's point and said as much. "Have you thought of who else you might want to marry if Pansy is such a disagreeable option?"

Draco nodded immediately. Smirking he said, "Yes, I was planning to elope with Ginny Weasley." He then had the satisfaction of watching his father go so pale he thought he might faint before regaining his normal demeanor.

"I trust you are joking about that Draco. Have you forgotten that we have a blood feud with that family?"

Draco examined his nails and replied in a bored tone, "Of course not, I was joking. The Weasleys are extremely fertile, they breed like bloody rabbits but Ginevra does nothing for me. I am interested in Nora Moon though."

"Moon, hmm, good family, pureblood, a good amount of magic, hardly any squibs in the last few generations, fairly fertile, yes, if she's interested then I won't oppose it," Lucius murmured, before looking up to meet his son's eyes.

"Talk to Nora, if she's interested then we'll see about arranging a new contract with her family. The contract with the Parkinson's is purely social at the moment, as neither of you are of age yet and as such it can be broken easily. Don't stuff this up Draco" Lucius warned as he rose from the chair he was in and went off in search of his adopted son.

Contrary to Raiden's belief, Lucius had noticed his arrival and he wanted to speak with him. Thinking for a moment, he headed for the library where he found Raiden curled up with a book on obscure transfigurations and the nasty things that could be done to the human body with them. Giving no reaction to Raiden's choice of reading material, he sat down in the chair next to Raiden's and settled down to wait.

After a couple of minutes Raiden looked up. He had heard Lucius' entry and noticed the man sitting next to him but he'd wanted to finish the page he was reading first before talking. Marking his place, he put the book down and turned to face Lucius.

"Is the argument finished?" he queried.

Lucius nodded. "Yes. Do you agree with what Draco said about Pansy Parkinson?" He was under no illusions that Raiden wouldn't have eavesdropped.

Raiden tilted his head to the side and considered the question. Finally he nodded his head. "Yes. She's been hanging round us ever since first year, always trying to touch Draco and invading his personal space. She seems jealous of anyone else spending time with him, even me. It's as if she considers him her personal property and Draco doesn't like that. She's also not terribly bright and Draco does like to have an intelligent conversation. He doesn't want an empty headed show trophy type of wife."

Lucius nodded, before holding in a laugh as Raiden's eyes widened when something occurred to him. Wide green eyes met cool silver as Raiden asked, "Er, my father didn't promise me to anyone did he?"

Lucius couldn't hold in the chuckle and Raiden looked affronted at his amusement. Holding up a hand he got himself under control and said, "Don't look so annoyed Raiden, it is a sensible question for you to ask at your age. The answer is no I don't think he did. I wasn't friends with your father, for obvious reasons, but I would have heard about it if he'd arranged a marriage for you. I believe that Daphne's father approached him about betrothing the two of you, but your father turned him down. He said that if you and Daphne were meant to be together then you would be and if you weren't then no good would come of forcing you together. He wanted you to marry a woman you loved, not someone that you hated and were only marrying because you had to."

Raiden snorted. "I wonder if my father was a seer, because Daphne and I have ended up togther anyway."

Lucius hummed an agreement before asking, "Do you intend to put a promise ring on her finger anytime soon?"

Raiden looked thoughtful at that. "I don't know. We haven't really discussed it, I think we want to wait for next year, see if we're still together. If I give her a promise ring now then everyone will be asking when the engagement is being announced, and they'll expect me to pop the question either during seventh year or at graduation and our Lord has other plans for graduation."

Lucius raised an eyebrow. "Oh. What plans?" Raiden grinned and outlined the plans for the upcoming year, as well as graduation. Once he'd finished, Lucius smirked in approval before frowning in puzzlement.

"There's one thing I don't quite get though Raiden. What is Star Wars?"

Raiden choked at this question before quickly explaining the muggle film saga to his guardian. Seeing that Lucius still looked puzzled he sighed. "Think of it like the Wizarding world, you have the Republic, which is the British Wizarding world, and then you have the Jedi who are the Light side witches and wizards. Then you have the Sith, who are the Dark side or us. The Force is like magic. Now, the films tell the story of Anakin Skywalker who is the subject of a prophecy that says that he'll bring balance to the Force. He is the Chosen One basically. He grows up as a Jedi, but turns to the Dark Side because he wants to save his wife. Basically the Dark Side wins for a time and then the Light Side fights back."

Lucius still looked a bit puzzled but accepted the fact that he wouldn't fully understand the films unless he saw them. Finally he asked, "So what does this muggle film saga have to do with our Lord's plans?"

Raiden chuckled. "When Anakin turns to the Dark side he helps wipe out his former friends and allies. His former master, Obi-Wan, who for our analogy is Dumbledore, is utterly crushed and demoralized. What we plan to do is have Lord Voldemort and all the Death Eaters show up at the front gates on graduation day, after the ceremony. Then when everyone turns to me, expecting me to save them, I will walk across and publicly join you. Dumbledore will be shocked and horrified, as will most of the crowd and we can quietly round up the Order of the Phoenix, along with Dumbledore and then we can set out our terms. We don't want a bloodbath here, we want to lay out our terms and hopefully most people will accept them in return for a cessation in hostility. By that time, most of the Ministry staff will hopefully be on our side and we can do the takeover legally. Then we replace Dumbledore, and any other staff that are unsuitable and go on with our lives."

Lucius thought about it, it was a bold plan for sure. Shaking his head he said, "OK, Raiden, I'll get the specifics next year when we're closer to the time. Now, what else did you and our Master discuss?"

Raiden scowled. "He wants Bellatrix to teach me stuff, along with you, Severus and himself. I didn't want Bellatrix as a tutor so I was thinking of ways to get out of having to learn from her."

Lucius raised an eyebrow. "Hence your choice of reading material I presume" he remarked. Raiden smirked but said nothing. Just then he felt a light tap on his mental shields. Recognizing his master's presence he lowered them enough for Voldemort to get in.

_Raiden if you somehow manage to curse Bellatrix out of existence I will trace it back to you. You will not like what happens should I do so. She is to remain alive at the end of each of your sessions do I make myself clear?_

_(sigh) Yes Master_

Raiden cut the connection, wondering how Voldemort seemed to know his plan for dealing with Bellatrix. He then remembered that Narcissa and Bellatrix were sisters and his dreams of revenge abruptly died. He didn't want to hurt Narcissa by killing her sister, he knew how it felt to have a family member die and he didn't want to be responsible for causing someone else to feel that pain. Growling, he switched targets mentally and planned for getting rid of some of the other more fanatical Death Eaters.

"Well, what did our Master have to say?" Lucius prompted.

Raiden looked up, startled; he'd forgotten that Lucius was there. Stretching slightly to work out a kink in his spine he replied, "He wanted to tell me that if Bellatrix somehow died while she's tutoring me that he will trace it back to me and then I'd be dealt with. So I was just thinking about how to remove some of the other more fanatical idiots in our organization."

Lucius smirked. "If you're worried about hurting Narcissa's feelings then don't be. She and Bellatrix parted company some time ago; they are no more than icily civil to each other when they meet. Narcissa has been after me to hit her sister with a "stray" curse or two for years now." Seeing that Raiden still looked uncomfortable he added, "Azkaban broke her mind quite thoroughly Raiden, there's almost nothing left of who she used to be. She's totally insane now, even our Master has a hard time getting her to stay on track and focused. You'd be doing us a favor if you found a way to deal with her."

Raiden nodded slowly. He didn't like contemplating hurting someone, or killing them, despite being who he was. His morals were still very much in place and extremely strong. Finally he went back to his book; the next chapter was entitled "Liquid to Liquid Transfiguration." As he read, the seeds of an idea started to take root. Smirking, he shut the book and went in search of dinner, having just thought of a relatively painless way of getting rid of the Death Eaters that were too fanatical about blood purity to risk having around. He might agree with the need to get them out of the way but that didn't mean he wanted to torture them to death either.

A couple of weeks later Raiden and Draco were in the sitting room on one of the couches, both holding envelopes and looking very nervous. Across from them, on the other couch was Lucius, Narcissa, and Remus. Remus had asked to be allowed to visit Raiden and Lucius had agreed, this would give Raiden an opportunity to continue to convert Remus. At the moment though, getting Remus to switch sides was the last thing on Raiden's mind. The envelopes that he and Draco were holding were their OWLs and they suddenly weren't all that confident about their grades.

"Well go on Harry, open it" Remus encouraged quietly. Raiden and Draco looked at each other before taking a deep breath and opening the envelopes together. They scanned them quickly before letting out twin whoops of delight.

The OWLs were as follows.

Passing Grades: O, E, A.

Failing Grades: P, D, T.

**Draco Lucius Malfoy**

Ancient Runes O

Arithmancy O

Astronomy E

Charms O

Defence Against the Dark Arts E

History of Magic E

Herbology E

Potions O

Transfiguration E

Total number of OWL's awarded: 9

**Harry James Potter **

Ancient Runes E

Arithmancy E

Astronomy E

Charms O

Defence Against the Dark Arts O

History of Magic E

Herbology O

Potions O

Transfiguration O

Total number of OWL's awarded: 9

Each of them had got no less than an E in any exam and it was amusing that they had the same scores in Astronomy, Charms, History of Magic and Potions. Raiden had scored one more O than Draco but that could be because of Draco's well advertised dislike of dirt. Draco had outscored Raiden in Ancient Runes and Arithmancy but Raiden had outscored him in Defence and Transfiguration.

Both Lucius and Remus were pleased. The two boys had worked extremely hard to get those scores, hard enough that Lucius held back the comments on "only four Outstandings" that he wanted to make to Draco. He knew that getting Outstanding on every exam was almost impossible so he held his tongue. Exceeds Expectations was good enough, at least for now. If Draco didn't improve on the NEWT's though then he would have something to say.

Remus was ecstatically telling Raiden that he'd managed to outscore both his father and his mother. Apparently James Potter had only managed six OWL's and his mother had managed eight. Raiden was pleased to hear this but secretly sad as well. At times he still missed his parents, and he would have given anything to hear James and Lily tell him how proud they were of him. For the first time, he started to think of what they would say if they could see him now. He had a feeling that despite Voldemort's changed goals they wouldn't be very impressed with their son being the Dark Lord's apprentice.

Shaking his head to clear it of the depressing thoughts that had crept in, Raiden smiled and began discussing what the coming year would bring. He noticed Remus become more relaxed and less wary and defensive as time passed and wondered how to tactfully bring up the topic of switching sides. As it turned out, Remus did it for him.

"Harry could we talk for a minute, in private?" he asked. Raiden looked at him and then nodded, rising from the couch and leading Remus to his bedroom, locking the door and putting up Silencing charms and a host of other spells that would ensure complete privacy. When he was finished he turned and looked at his honorary godfather expectantly.

"What do you want to speak with me about Remus?" he asked.

Remus looked uncertain briefly before he gathered his courage and said, "Sirius was talking with me about this group of yours, the Avengers. He told me that Voldemort had changed his goals and now doesn't want to kill every muggle born and muggle in sight. He mentioned that I would be allowed to join the Avengers if I wished. Is this true?"

Raiden sat down and thought of how best to approach the question. He wanted Remus on his side, rather desperately truth be told. He didn't want Remus and Sirius facing each other on opposite sides of a battlefield, should it come to that. Nor did he want to feel that a member of his family was his enemy. Finally he sighed.

"Everything Sirius told you is true. To demonstrate Voldemort's changed goals, Hermione Granger is one of the Avengers and she's also one of my closest friends. He and I have come up with the terms that we want for the Wizarding World. They include equality for everyone Remus, no more discrimination against werewolves for example. The secrecy of our world would be maintained as charms would be placed on each Muggle-born and half blood to ensure that they don't speak of the Wizarding World to any Muggle who isn't informed of our world. Those charms would apply to the witch or wizard's immediate family as well."

He hesitated before adding, "Sirius, he didn't tell you about the exact relationship between Voldemort and myself did he?" He didn't think so, the parchment that Sirius had signed should have protected him but he wanted to make sure.

Remus shook his head. "No. He said that it was a question that would be answered only if I joined the Avengers and signed a piece of parchment. Whatever that means" he finished. Raiden smiled relieved. His secret was safe. Sirius had told Remus nothing that would truly be damaging should it leak. As far as anyone knew, the Avengers were a group of school kids, like the Marauders had been, only bigger.

"Do you want to join us, Remus? You can only learn the rest of it if you join. There is no discrimination with us, you can be yourself and not have to hide what you are. Please."

Remus looked at his honorary godson and then thought, _'To hell with it.' _He wasn't being used on the Light side, too many viewing him with suspicion just because he was a werewolf. Even in the Order of the Phoenix he was kept in the dark a lot of the time. Finally he nodded.

"Where do I sign?" he asked, and was rewarded with a large smile from Raiden and a piece of parchment appeared in front of him. As soon as he finished signing, a glow appeared around him briefly and he felt magic wash through him. He sat back and looked at Raiden with curiosity.

"So what's the big secret?" he queried.

Raiden smirked and replied, "The secret is the nature of the relationship that exists between me and Voldmort. I have been his apprentice since I was eight years old. It was my ideas for our world that he adopted, not the other way round. I am responsible for getting him to come round to the fact that the Muggle borns are needed in our world to stop the problem of inbreeding. All the Muggle-borns will be screened prior to coming to Hogwarts and the strongest ones will be permitted to enter. Those that aren't strong enough will have their magic bound and their memory of any accidental magic that was done will be Obliviated. Those Muggle-borns and half-bloods that choose to live in the Muggle world will have the "no talking about magic to Muggles" restriction placed on them but they won't have their magic taken away. The idea is to make the magic strong again with infusions of new blood while limiting the exposure of our world as much as possible. Under the current regime there have been far too many close calls. We aim to stop the Muggles from finding out about us. They have about a million to one population advantage over us and weapons that could wipe us out in one strike should they choose to take that route. We can't chance that."

Remus was in shock. His best friends' son was the apprentice of the man that had killed them! It boggled the mind. He listened to what Raiden was saying though and the more he thought about it, the more he liked it. He agreed with Raiden about the too many close calls and thought that it would be a good plan. Seeing that Raiden was waiting for his response he said, "Well. I think it's a good plan. I'm in. What do I have to do?"

Raiden smiled in relief. "Nothing for now. I'll arrange a proper set of Avenger robes for you, and we have to pick a name for you. Not Moony, that would be recognized by our enemies. Sirius was codenamed Grim. My Avenger name is Veneficus, Hermione's is Athena, Draco's is Argentum, Blaise Zabini's is Diablo and Daphne's is Krusa. The robes are black with your Animagus form stitched on the back. You won't attend Death Eater meetings for the most part, but if you do, make sure you're wearing your robes. The Death Eaters won't harm you; they face either me or my master if they do, or worse, both of us." He hesitated a bit and then reached forward, pulling the surprised werewolf into a brief but strong hug.

"Welcome to the Dark Side, Moony" he whispered.


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter Thirty-Four: Horcruxes and Training**

It was two weeks before Raiden and Draco had to go back to school but the two young wizards were not thinking of that. Instead, they faced each other in the training hall at Riddle Manor, which was really a large cave underneath the house itself. Both had their wands and Raiden had been instructed not to use wandless magic at all. They also both had swords.

At the signal to start came, Draco started casting curses which Raiden dodged, shielded against or simply watched as they sailed past. He cast a few low level ones himself, just letting Draco tire himself out while he planned. Casting a discreet charm on his sword blade, he raised it, prepared to go on the offensive.

A low humming noise filled the room as Raiden attacked with his sword, the blade flashing in a series of strikes that Draco was hard pressed to block. The unexpected physical attack had caught Draco off guard and thus he was at a disadvantage. He rallied quickly enough and soon the two blades were locked together.

"Now what Raiden? What other tricks have you got for me?" Draco half sneered. They were friends but in this room that was left at the door. Raiden smirked. "This" he answered, disengaging his blade, somersaulting backwards and raising his wand.

A series of curses, hexes and jinxes flew at Draco, but all were cast in Parseltongue, meaning that any counters had to be cast in the same language. The blond wizard was forced to duck and dodge instead of shield and he was furious. He didn't like Raiden getting the upper hand.

"Reducto!" he snarled, aiming at Raiden's torso. If it had hit, it would have done a lot of damage but Raiden merely smirked. The charm on his blade activated as the curse hit it, and rebounded into the wall.

"How, what the hell did you do?" Draco demanded, stopping the duel and running over to Raiden in order to examine his sword. Raiden smirked again before replying, "Modified Parseltongue shield charm, and a Parseltongue Unbreakable charm as well Draco. They will protect the blade and deflect any spells that hit it. Even the Unforgivables. I got the idea from Star Wars; the charms give it the necessary deflection properties. I didn't feel it was necessary to have the whole glowing thing going on as well though. Distracts you from the fight. Shall we continue?"

Draco shook his head in amazement but walked back across the room. "Let's see how good those charms are then" he called out before firing a steady stream of every spell imaginable at his friend. Raiden stood there, balanced and ready to go. He half closed his eyes, stretching out with his magic, dropping into the almost-trance that he used when fencing, allowing his magic to guide him. It never put him wrong.

Stepping to the side he deflected a Bone-Breaking curse and a Stunner, before whipping his wand up to shield against a Vomiting Hex, an Organ Rejection Curse and the Knee Reversal Jinx. Smoothly, he responded with several nasty curses, and sent a Scourgify charm in the middle of it. Draco was so busy deflecting the nastier curses that he failed to block the Scourgify. The duel ended when Lucius stepped in, laughing at the sight of Draco snarling at Raiden round a mouthful of soap.

"Well done Raiden that was quite a performance. If you wouldn't mind stopping the Scourgify now, I think his mouth's clean enough" he chuckled. Raiden smiled and stopped the charm, grinning at the profanities that spewed from Draco's mouth as soon as he did so.

"Um are you sure his mouth's clean, that language was filthy" he remarked which set Lucius off again. Raiden retired to the side of the room where he found a towel, thoughtfully provided by Remus who hadn't watched the fight as he was recovering from the full moon. The three wizards made their way up to the main house where they encountered an annoying sight.

"Bellatrix" Lucius greeted his sister in law, noting the tension in Raiden skyrocket as he caught sight of her. The tutoring sessions with her were not going well. Bellatrix took every opportunity to demonstrate the curses on Raiden instead of the animals that were brought in as demonstration tools. This had caused the resentment and anger inside the young Apprentice to intensify with each session.

"Lucius, I trust you haven't worn my student out already" she purred. Raiden hissed in a snake like manner and she took a step back before recovering. "Into the usual room, we'll be covering liquid to liquid transfiguration today" she said in a businesslike tone.

"I'm not going to have you at my back bitch" he hissed at her, allowing some of his pent up anger to bleed through into his voice. He was as tightly wound as a steel spring, furious at the order from his master that he wasn't allowed to harm her.

Bellatrix shrugged and preceded him into the room, waiting till he sat down before starting the lesson.

"Liquid to liquid transfiguration can be simple or complex, depending on what substances you're using" she began. Raiden listened with half an ear, he'd already read this chapter in the textbook for sixth year Transfiguration. "For example, you can turn pumpkin juice into rum, or water into wine. Any liquid can be changed into another liquid if you have the right focus. Why don't you try on this glass of water? Turn it into pumpkin juice."

Raiden raised a hand and flicked it at the glass. He didn't bother to say the spell; he'd practiced it enough at Malfoy Manor that he didn't need to say it. It was one of the spells that he'd mastered both wandlessly and silently. Instantly, the water changed into thick pumpkin juice and Raiden promptly drank it, re-hydrating himself after the duel with Draco. Bellatrix looked annoyed that he'd got to it before she had but grudgingly said "Well done. Try changing the glass of water into wine."

Raiden was very bored. He did the spell and watched as she drank the results. He smirked when Bellatrix choked. "Not to your liking _Professor_" he sneered. Bellatrix drank several glasses of water before replying.

"That was vinegar you evil little snot!"

Raiden shrugged. "Sorry, my water to wine spell needs work apparently. Hey what are you doing?"

Apparently his flippant remark had pushed Bellatrix past the point of sanity because she turned on him in a fury. Spells flew out of her wand so fast that Raiden couldn't dodge or shield against them all. In a short space of time he found himself bound to his chair, his hands in front of him and in his lap, his feet tied to the chair legs. He was gagged so he couldn't yell for help, at least not physically. He certainly did so mentally as Bellatrix advanced on him, certain that she had her annoying little enemy at her mercy at last.

_MASTER HELP! THE INSANE BITCH IS GOING TO KILL ME! _Raiden yelled over the bond, seeing a green glow start to emanate from the tip of Bellatrix's wand as she spoke "Avada.."

She didn't get any further than that as Raiden wrenched his hands upwards so his fingers were pointing directly at his tormentor. All of his pent up anger, hatred and rage surged within him, needing an outlet. It all flowed out of his fingers, in a burst of pure magic.

Bellatrix screamed as the magic, which was acting in the same way as electricity would, enveloped her and overloaded her nervous system. She screamed, jerked and twitched as though she were trying to dance while being horizontal. Magic kept pouring out of Raiden's fingertips as his emotions slowly calmed down. When the emotional storm had passed, so did the magical one. At the end of it all, Raiden looked up, exhausted, to see Voldemort standing in the doorway, looking at the smoking corpse in shocked, slightly sickened horror. Finally he turned to Raiden and said, "I understand that it was an extreme situation but please don't do that again. It's not very good for a Dark Lord to fry his followers in such a manner."

Raiden stared at Voldemort in disbelief and snapped, "She was going to kill me or did you not get my message?"

His master's eyes narrowed as Voldemort hissed back, "Yes I did, I almost fell off my throne in front of the rest of the Inner Circle thanks to you! I'm not going to punish you for this precisely because of what Bellatrix was going to do!"

Softening his tone slightly, Voldemort added, "I meant it when I said that no one hurts you and gets away with it. If you hadn't killed her then I would have. I was just about to use the Killing Curse myself when you electrocuted her. Did you manage to learn anything at all in your sessions with her?"

Raiden snorted. "No. Everything she taught me was stuff I could have learnt in Transfiguration this year at Hogwarts, plus the self study at home in Malfoy Manor. Those Parseltongue lessons are good though, I was cursing Draco in Parseltongue in our duel today. The sword charms worked too."

Voldemort nodded as Raiden freed himself from the ropes and stood up, flexing his muscles to ease the small cramps that had set in. Looking to his master expectantly he saw a small frown on his face.

"What's wrong? I'm sorry I killed her, you know I don't like killing, but it was self defence."

Voldemort shook his head. "Nothing's wrong. I was just thinking of a report that Rabastan brought me. Apparently Dumbledore is looking for my Horcruxes."

Raiden looked puzzled. "Your what?" he asked.

Voldemort smirked. "You remember when I told you that I survived the Killing Curse because of certain precautions?" he said. Seeing Raiden's nod he continued, "Those protections were the Horcruxes. Since your lessons with Bellatrix have seemingly been permanently cancelled, you can have four lessons with me per week instead of three. Let's go."

Raiden followed Voldemort to his study, picking up his Lord of the Rings book along the way. Hermione had given the trilogy to him as a birthday gift and it was very interesting. Tolkein had some interesting ideas on magic and the One Ring intrigued Raiden a lot.

When they were seated, Voldemort began talking. "How much do you know about Horcruxes?" he asked.

Raiden frowned. "I don't know anything about them Master, what are they exactly?"

Voldemort smirked, this was the answer he'd been expecting. "Horcruxes are vessels which hold a piece of your soul," he began. "They are created using the Darkest of Dark magic rituals, and the information on how to make them has never, at least to my knowledge been written down. In order to create a Horcrux, you have to commit a murder. This tears your soul apart, and then you use a ritual to put one of the pieces into the object you wish to use as the Horcrux. The more times you murder, the more times your soul is split, however the maximum number of pieces your soul can split into is seven. You can only have a maximum number of six Horcruxes as one piece of your soul remains in your body at all times. When I met you, that spirit form of myself was the one piece of my soul that had remained in my body. I had six Horcruxes hidden in various places round Britain and Scotland. I now have five as I reabsorbed one piece of my soul back in your second year."

Raiden looked puzzled until he remembered the Chamber of Secrets. "The diary" he said quietly, seeing Voldemort's nod of acknowledgement. "So what are the others?" he asked.

Voldemort shrugged. "There is a locket which is rumored to have once belonged to Slytherin himself. That is back in my possession now; Sirius found it when cleaning out his attic and gave it back to me. There is a ring which belonged to my mother's family, the Gaunt family. They were the last of Slytherin's descendants. Helga Hufflepuff's cup which is hidden in plain sight at Hogwarts itself. Nagini is one, as well. That is why I keep her close to me. There is also Rowena Ravenclaw's journal. The magic in the book prevents it being destroyed, and it is a priceless artifact so it will be kept preserved."

Raiden was thinking this over. "The diary, the ring, the locket, the cup, the journal, Nagini and the last part is in you right." Voldemort nodded and corrected him. "The diary is now not a Horcrux remember, but the rest are right."

Raiden shrugged. "So, you've got the locket, the cup is at Hogwarts, brilliant placement by the way, Dumbledork will never look for it there, Nagini is also with you. Where is Ravenclaw's journal?"

Voldemort smirked. "In the Ministry Museum of course." Raiden's eyes bugged out as he thought of all the witches and wizards that were helping to guard a piece of his master's soul.

"Hehehehehehehehe, oh that's good Master, that's priceless. The Wizarding world is practically keeping you alive, oh the irony," he dissolved into laughter before sobering.

"So as long as the Horcruxes survive, you survive right?" he asked. Voldemort nodded, curious as to what his apprentice was thinking. Raiden picked up Fellowship of the Ring and paged through it. He read a passage once, then twice, before shutting the book and thinking some more. Finally he laughed.

"What is it?" Voldemort questioned.

Raiden smirked. "Have you ever read Lord of the Rings Master?" Voldemort shook his head. "You should. Good series, the author's views on magic are amusing. The wizards are very powerful. However, it's Sauron you'd be interested in. He's the Dark Lord in the story."

"Why would I be interested in him?" Voldemort asked, growing somewhat annoyed as Raiden collapsed in laughter over something he hadn't explained yet. Finally, when he sobered up, Raiden said, "It's just that in the story, Sauron creates ninteen Rings of Power, and then creates one more master ring, the One Ring to rule all other rings. He puts his power, his will to dominate all life and his evil into the Ring. As long as the Ring survives, Sauron survives. I was laughing because of the parallel between that and your situation."

"What parallel?" came the annoyed question, although Voldemort was starting to have an inkling of where this was going.

Raiden snorted with laughter again before replying, "This parallel. As long as the One Ring survived, Sauron survived. As long as your Horcruxes survive, you survive. The One Ring was Sauron's Horcrux."

Voldemort thought about it and nodded slowly. He then asked, "What happened to the Ring?"

Raiden shrugged. "It could only be destroyed in the place where it was made, a huge volcano in Sauron's territory. The people of Middle Earth formed a Fellowship and took the Ring towards Mordor, which is Sauron's territory. Apparently two of them got through and dropped it into the lava pit."

Voldemort winced. "And when that happened it was goodbye Sauron" he muttered.

Raiden nodded before saying cheerfully, "You'd better keep a good eye on your other Horcruxes Master because if Dumbledore's read Lord of the Rings then he might well gather up your precious soul pieces and drop them in a volcano. I hear there's a nice hot one in New Zealand."

Raiden ducked several curses and hexes as he ran out the door. He'd let his master calm down before returning for his lessons on how to be a successful Dark Lord. He wandered down the corridor humming the Imperial March. He wanted to watch Revenge of the Sith before dinner.

**Author Note**

**I know that the Star Wars prequels did not start coming out until 1999 and I know that RotS did not come out until 2005. I was at the premiere in my country, dressed as a Jedi if you want to know. I'm just playing with the release dates a little, it makes sense that Voldemort would want to examine how Palpatine manipulated his way into running an entire galaxy, and then steal his ideas for his own use. No flames over this minor plot point please. I wonder who else picked up on the little parallel between the Horcruxes and the One Ring in Lord of the Rings. I didn't until I was watching LotR the other weekend and suddenly thought of that bit. It would be interesting whether it was intentional on J K Rowling's part or not. Someone should ask her.**

**May the Force be with you**

**Padawan Lynne**


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter Thirty Five: Sixth Year Begins**

Raiden and Draco entered the Great Hall for the Welcoming Feast on September First feeling hungry and a bit annoyed. They had read through their books and trained over the holidays but they were still partially locked in holiday mode and resented the chattering of all the younger years.

"Merlin, I hope the din dies down soon" Draco muttered. Raiden could only sigh in agreement, before looking down in slight embarrassment as his stomach gurgled. Blaise, who was seated opposite them chuckled, and then looked mortified as his stomach chose to answer Raiden's.

"Sounds like you two are ready to eat" Daphne said cheerfully as she sat down beside Raiden, giving him a brief hug. Raiden returned it and smiled at his girlfriend. Daphne had grown up into a beautiful and powerful witch and there were several other boys that Raiden had had to fight off already as they had had designs on getting her for themselves. This set him to wondering about the feasibility of publicly declaring his love for her and "taking her off the market" as it were. This preoccupation lasted all through the Sorting, except when Raiden roused himself to clap for the new Slytherin first years.

"Oy, Raiden, pay attention" Blaise hissed as Dumbledore stood up to speak. Raiden reluctantly paid attention to the speech and learnt something interesting. Snape was going to be their DADA teacher this year while Horace Slughorn was taking over the Potions position. Apart from that there weren't any other staff changes and Raiden dug into the food as soon as it appeared.

After dinner the Slytherins went down to their common room and spread out, just relaxing. The welcome-to-Slytherin speech was the usual normal speech, and Raiden sank into boredom. His fingers found the locket, hidden under his shirt and kept hidden from everyone with a Parseltongue spell. To anyone watching, it seemed that Raiden was merely loosening his collar. Raiden stretched and rose when the welcome back speech was over; he wanted nothing more than to sink into his bed and sleep. Unbidden, his thoughts drifted back to when he'd received the locket he now wore.

_Raiden was finished packing for Hogwarts when he felt a slight burn in his scar. This was Voldemort's way of calling him, and Raiden headed for the Apparition point at Malfoy Manor, telling Lucius where he was going. His guardian had merely wished him luck and continued reading the _Daily Prophet_._

_Landing at the designated Apparition zone in Riddle Manor, Raiden headed for Voldemort's study where he found his master looking into the fire and playing with a heavy, gold locket that hung on a fine chain._

"_Ah Raiden come in" Voldemort greeted him. Raiden took a seat and watched the Dark Lord expectantly. _

"_You know what this is?" Voldemort asked. Cocking his head to the side Raiden frowned before enlightenment struck._

"_One of your Horcruxes" he replied. _

_His master nodded. _"_Yes it is. I called you here today because I want to give you this. I intended for it to be one of your sixteenth birthday presents but Nagini went and hid it. She likes shiny stuff, worse than a Niffler she is" Voldemort growled slightly, looking at the large snake that was curled in front of the fire. Nagini hissed at him and went back to sleep._

"_So what do you want me to do with it?" Raiden asked, confused. Voldemort smiled and held the locket out to him._

"_I want you to be the guardian of this locket. Look at it this way, if you have it, you'll always carry a piece of me wherever you go" he smirked._

_Raiden groaned and shook his head. "Bad pun Master, very bad pun" he said, before taking the locket and examining it. Up close he could clearly feel his master's magical signature radiating off the locket. He slipped the chain over his head and adjusted the length so that the locket sat over his heart. Looking up at his master he smiled and bowed his head briefly._

"_Thank you Master, I will guard it with my life" he said solemnly. _

_Voldemort smiled at him and replied, "I'm sure you will, now you'd better go back to Malfoy Manor, I believe it's almost dinner time and Narcissa will throw a fit if you're not there."_

_Master and Apprentice shared one last smile before Raiden Apparated back to Malfoy Manor._

Shaking off the memory, Raiden headed for his dormitory and sank into his bed, more than grateful for the soft pillows and sheets that were so sleep inducing. Within moments he was asleep and dreaming of the year to come.

The next morning saw the group of Avengers seated at the Slytherin table, joined once more by Hermione, who had found some friends in Ravenclaw the previous year but still preferred the company of the Slytherins. Ravenclaws, she said, preferred books to anything else, and Hermione wasn't quite as much of a bookworm as the other students thought.

"Wonderful, this term we have Potions with Gryffindors again" Blaise groaned. Raiden smirked. "Don't look at it as a negative thing Diablo. Think how many points Professor Snape will take from Gryffindor if we annoy them into making mistakes."

There was an appreciative chuckle from the rest of the Avengers until Hermione reminded them that their favorite professor was teaching Defence that year and Professor Slughorn was teaching Potions.

"Even better" Draco snorted. "We can cause the Gryffs to mess up their spellwork. Can you imagine the innuendos that Professor Snape will come with regarding the way that they hold their wands?"

The boys of the group snickered while the girls looked disgusted. Raiden put an arm round Daphne's shoulders and hugged her while finishing his breakfast. She leaned into his embrace for a moment before pulling away.

"Get ready, we have to be at Transfiguration in ten minutes" she said, while finishing her own meal. Rolling his eyes, Raiden complied. He was looking forward to learning Transfiguration this year, they started the theory of the Animagus transformation and while all the Avengers could transform, and had spent many a night running, or in Hermione's case, flying, with Moony on the full moons, it was still good to brush up on the theory. Also, Raiden was looking at twisting the spells to various Dark purposes.

His Dark Arts training that summer had gone well. He'd taken to the Dark Arts like a fish to water, and his personality had undergone a change as he got deeper into them. He could still love, but that emotion was extended only to his family and close friends. So far, none of his friends except Draco had spotted it. At school Raiden still wore the mask of Harry Potter, the Chosen One. It was essential that this mask not break before the time was right otherwise all the carefully laid plans that Voldemort and Raiden had come up with would be ruined.

The Avengers spent an enjoyable morning, learning Transfiguration and then Arithmancy after that. Raiden had finished his work for Arithmancy, and had started on his homework for that lesson. The result was that when the class was over he handed in his worksheet plus his homework. The rest of the class glared at him, Raiden had a gift for Arithmancy that meant he was consistently top of the class each year. Even Hermione couldn't keep up with him at times which irked her greatly.

"Merlin Veneficus you could at least pretend to not be a genius at that subject" Daphne grumbled good naturedly to her boyfriend as Raiden looked at the ceiling, looking the picture of innocence.

"Oh calm down Krusa, you always beat me at Ancient Runes anyway. What's the problem?"

Daphne gave him an odd look. "You've changed Harry, has it got anything to do with your training over the summer?"

Raiden winced. "Yes. I discovered a certain liking for the subject material, to the detriment of one of my tutors when she pushed me too far. It's changed my personality somewhat, but I still love you."

Daphne smirked. "I knew that you prat, I just want to know what happened."

Raiden looked at their group, before looking at his watch. It was two hours before lunch; they only had two classes that morning and one in the afternoon. "Let's go outside, I'll explain there."

The Avengers moved outside and found their favorite spot, a secluded corner of the outer courtyard, overhung by a large tree. Sprawling on the grass the Avengers fixed Raiden with a collective stare that the young Dark Lord in training found amusing.

"In order to use the Dark Arts you have to really want the effects of the spell you're using to happen. Like with a disembowelment curse, you have to want your victim to spill their guts, literally. And if you have aversions to hurting people you can't use those spells. So I had to get rid of my aversion to hurting people."

"Does that mean you'll go around killing indiscriminately, or torture people for fun?" Hermione questioned.

Raiden shook his head. "No, but if someone hurts me or my friends, then I won't hesitate to hurt them back, ten times worse. Yes that does include torture and death but only as a last resort. My mentor taught me some lovely little spells, which aren't really dark in nature but which can be used to torture someone to great effect."

"Example?" Blaise asked.

Raiden thought briefly before smirking. "You know Weasley's afraid of spiders?" he asked. Receiving nods he continued, "Well, think of this. You catch Weasley alone, make it so he can't move, then use that conjuring spell Flitwick taught us last year to conjure large spiders, make them last for several hours, and then let them crawl all over him. Or alternatively use an illusion spell from third year to make him believe that there are spiders all over him when there aren't."

"Brilliant. Does anyone have the Gryffindor password? We could make it a prank, and because no one else is supposed to have the password it will be assumed that another Gryffindor did it" Draco chuckled.

"We don't need one. One of the passages from the Chamber of Secrets leads to the back of a painting in the Gryffindor common room. Apparently Slytherin wanted a way to keep an eye on the Gryffindors so he made a passageway up from the Chamber so he could spy on them. The painting requires Parseltongue to work so that's why no one knows about it."

"Cool. So when do we do this prank?" Draco enquired.

"Mhmm, not for a few days. Let him settle in, give him a chance to insult us, then we retaliate."

The rest of the Avengers all thought this was a great plan. Although Hermione didn't normally approve of hurting people, Ron Weasley had been very rude to her so she didn't mind getting a little revenge. Raiden secretly wanted this to continue, Hermione was taking her first steps towards the Dark and Raiden would do everything he could to keep her moving along that path.

The rest of the day went smoothly. Their afternoon class was Potions, and Slughorn gave Raiden the creeps. The man was always watching him, eager to get Raiden, or rather Harry Potter, into his circle of "friends." After the class was over Raiden shivered as he walked out.

"That man creeps me out. Why is he so interested in me?" he asked.

Draco punched his shoulder gently and replied, "Father told me that Slughorn, or Sluggy as he's known, surrounds himself with the powerful, the rich and famous, and the influential. He rides their coat tails, basking in the fact that he's able to say that so-and-so from such-and –such is his friend. He's got his eye on you to be the jewel in his crown Harry. Don't let him do that to you. You're far too good for him."

Raiden nodded, disgusted with what he now knew. "Don't worry, I will" he muttered. Along the way to the Slytherin common room, they bumped into Professor Snape.

"Mr Potter the Headmaster wishes to see you in his office after dinner this evening" he stated before turning and gliding away to his office. Confused looks were exchanged between the Avengers before they mutually decided to let things play out and see where they went.

Later that evening, after dinner, Professor Snape escorted Raiden up to Dumbledore's office. Raiden had been assured that he wasn't in trouble so he was curious as to what Dumbledore wanted with him. He didn't want to be alone with him though.

"Um, sir, would you mind staying with me. I don't feel like being alone with him" Raiden said.

Snape looked startled but replied neutrally, "Of course Mr Potter, but I don't know what he wants."

Raiden shrugged but was saved from replying when the office door opened and they walked in. The Headmaster looked surprised when Raiden requested that Snape be allowed to stay but he allowed it anyway.

"So what do you want Headmaster?" Raiden asked. Dumbledore smiled at him and replied, "In order to vanquish one's enemy Harry, one must understand them. Therefore, I have acquired memories from people who knew the young Tom Riddle, before he became Voldemort, and after. Hopefully, this trip down memory lane will help us."

Raiden and Snape exchanged a glance but followed Dumbledore into the memories. An hour and a half later, the two Slytherins left the office, both worried. Dumbledore was searching for Voldemort's Horcruxes and had discovered and destroyed one.

The diary was safe and was in point of fact no longer a Horcrux at all. The locket was safely round Raiden's neck but he touched it anyway, to reassure himself that it was there. The others weren't known to Dumbledore yet but Raiden opened his diary anyway and tapped it, establishing the connection to his master's.

_Master, we have a problem_ he wrote. There was a brief pause and then Voldemort's reply shimmered into view.

_What is it?_

_You know how you said that Dumbledore was searching for your Horcruxes?_

_Yes. What's the problem? He won't find them._

_Um, Master, he's found the ring and destroyed it, and he's well on the way to finding another two._

Voldemort's next comment summed up the situation perfectly.

_Oh fuck._


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter Thirty-Six: Horcrux Hunts and Misdirection**

Raiden managed to get through the first few months fairly well, even though the times Dumbledore left school made him nervous. He knew that the Headmaster would be searching for the Horcruxes, and didn't know how far Dumbledore had gone in discovering them. It was during this time that he came up with his plan.

Hurrying up to the Owlery after Transfiguration one afternoon, he sent Salazar off with a letter to Lucius, with instructions to forward it to Voldemort. The letter said,

_Dear Master_

_Dumbledore is still searching for your hidden possessions and has made more progress in locating them. I hope they are well guarded. I was thinking that in order to throw him off the trail, we ought to reveal my existence. Not the fact that I am HP, just the fact that you have a student known as Lord Raiden. This will make him panic as he thinks that once the Horcruxes are gone then destroying you will be easy. If a student exists then the threat of the Dark Side will be harder to get rid of._

_Yours sincerely_

_Raiden_

Salazar flew off into the darkening sky as Raiden made his way down to the Great Hall, hoping to study before dinner. The letter had been sealed so only Voldemort could open it. None of his friends called him Raiden around any other people that didn't know about his true allegiances. They all called him Harry or Veneficus.

A week later a reply came to him via the Malfoy eagle owl. The bird delivered the letter at breakfast and Raiden glanced at it. Seeing his master's writing, Raiden tucked the letter into his bag, wanting to read it out of sight of prying eyes. Swallowing the last of his breakfast he headed for Arithmancy, where he once again came top in the day's work. This earned him no points with Daphne who was doing her best to beat him and not succeeding. Not even a hug could sooth the irate witch and Raiden found his offer of tutoring rejected with a testicle shrinking hex.

"Arrgh, Daphne did you have to do that?" he complained when he realized what the hex did.

Daphne smirked and replied, "Yes. What's the matter Harry; don't you know how to reverse it?"

Raiden glared at his girlfriend and hissed "No I don't. What the hell am I supposed to do? The counter curse isn't in any of the standard healing spells that we have access too!"

Daphne merely grinned unrepentantly and replied, "Well you'll just have to go to Madam Pomfrey then won't you." She laughed and headed back to the common room, leaving Raiden to nurse his wounded ego and think about the embarrassing situation he was in.

After going to all his classes and trying to discover the counter curse on his own, he swallowed his pride and asked Professor Snape for help. He found his Head of House in the Defence against the Dark Arts office, grading papers.

"Mr Potter this is unexpected. What are you so upset about?" Snape asked. His eyebrows rose into his hairline and a smile threatened to break out when Raiden haltingly explained his predicament, clearly embarrassed.

"I see," Snape said neutrally, fighting to keep from laughing. Daphne really was creative in her retaliation which Snape liked. "You'll have to go to Madam Pomfrey I'm afraid, I'm not about to start messing with those type of spells. Why, the wrong counter could render you sterile."

Wide and shocked green eyes met Snape's before Raiden turned and left the office. Deciding to skip dinner he walked determinedly up to the hospital wing. He'd rather suffer the embarrassment of telling the medi-witch what had happened, than risk his ability to have children later on.

Madam Pomfrey was very sympathetic. "It's a favorite target for young witches to go for when attempting to humiliate their male classmates I'm afraid" she said as she got Raiden comfortable. "The cure is a counter curse but it's a complicated one. Just lie back and I'll fix you up as fast as possible."

Raiden looked rather nervously at the medi-witch when she asked him to take off his trousers and underwear. Pomfrey smiled when she noticed this and assured him that she'd seen everything before and he had nothing to worry about. This reassured Raiden somewhat but he was still annoyed that his girlfriend had caused him to suffer this humiliation.

One spell later and Raiden was restored to full health. His face was still red as he put his underwear and trousers back on. Quietly thanking Madam Pomfrey he left, heading down to the kitchens for some food. The house elves were more than happy to give him food and after eating his fill Raiden headed back to the common room.

"All fixed?" Daphne asked innocently when she spotted him. Raiden glared at her and snarled, "Yes no thanks to you. Don't do that again otherwise you might find yourself in trouble."

He then turned and made his way to the dormitory, still fuming over what Daphne had done to him. He knew it was meant to be a joke but he couldn't see the joke part of it. Angry, he grabbed his homework and lay on his bed to do it, not acknowledging the others as they came in. Draco knew enough to leave his brother alone, Raiden would get over this with time, but Blaise tried talking to the furious Dark Lord in training. Bad mistake. He found himself heading for the hospital wing after Raiden tossed a nasty curse at him that swapped his arms and legs. Walking on one's hands was not as easy as it seemed, Blaise discovered.

Daphne saw his predicament and swallowed hard before deciding that she'd let her boyfriend cool down before making up with him again. It had been meant as a joke, but she'd forgotten that wizards were notoriously sensitive about having that part of their anatomy tampered with. Settling down with her homework she finished most of it quickly before glaring at the Arithmancy equations.

Looking at the door to the boys' dorm room she sighed. Getting up and taking her work with her she knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" came Raiden's distinctly grumpy voice. Daphne swallowed.

"It's Daphne. I'm really really sorry Harry, I won't do it again. I need your help with the homework."

There was silence for a few minutes before the door swung open silently and smoothly. Daphne entered cautiously. Raiden was equally skilled in magic with or without his wand and indeed wouldn't have bothered with using his wand for any spells from first year up to and including fifth year level were it not for the need to hide his ability in wandless magic. He still used his wand for learning new spells but once he was able to satisfactorily cast the spells wandlessly he barely used it again.

He was developing into a very powerful wizard and when he came into his full power on his seventeenth birthday he would easily be Voldemort's equal in terms of raw power. At that point, the only thing that both Voldemort and Dumbledore would have over him was experience. Neither of the older wizards had much skill with wandless magic though so that would be Raiden's advantage over them in any duel. Voldemort sometimes liked to tease him by calling him Lord Vader to which Raiden merely responded by calling him Emperor.

"You have a problem with the homework" Raiden stated neutrally. His expression gave no clue as to his feelings. Daphne nodded and approached the bed where Raiden was lying on his stomach. His own work was piled neatly on the bedside table, as he'd finished it earlier. Draco took one look at the situation and quietly left, seeing that the two needed time alone.

"I am sorry Harry" Daphne apologised again. Raiden looked at her and then smirked slightly. He pulled her towards him and then down onto the bed where he rolled on top of her and pinned her down.

"I know. The question is, what am I going to do about it?" he said, his tone indicating that he was teasing her. Daphne noticed their positions and promptly tried to squirm free. Raiden easily blocked that attempt but got off her anyway, changing position so that they were lying side by side.

"Now, what's giving you trouble? It's a simple multi layered equation with links between the layers, we did this earlier in the week." Daphne lay there and listened while Raiden made her problem with Arithmancy magically disappear. She looked at the workings on the parchment and then kissed him, getting up to go and copy it out neatly in the common room.

Moments later a shriek of "HARRY POTTER!" echoed through the Slytherin House as Daphne spotted his revenge for the prank she'd played on him. Her hair had been turned blue and was now very bushy and stiff as well. It looked like she'd been introduced to muggle food coloring before being electrocuted and then having extra-hold gel plastered liberally in the result.

Daphne came storming back in, in a fury. "Turn it back!" she hissed.

Raiden lounged on his bed and shook his head. "No can do love. You forced me to go to Madam Pomfrey so it's only fair that you have to do the same. After this we call a truce though, and go back to our nice comfortable relationship OK?"

Daphne grudgingly nodded and cast a glamour charm on her hair to hide what had been done to it. Raiden didn't mind this, after all his problem had been covered up so it was fair that Daphne be allowed the same privilege.

When she'd gone to the infirmary, Raiden finally opened the letter that had been burning a hole in his bag all day. It went as follows.

_Dear Raiden_

_I quite agree with your plan. It is bothersome that Dumbledore is still searching but don't worry, all my other possessions are well guarded. One of them, the one that currently resides around your neck was even replaced by a fake so I wish Dumbledore all the luck in the world with his searching. As for announcing your existence, there will be a meeting in two days time. I will send you a Portkey which will allow you to attend the meeting, please be dressed in your Avenger robes, and I will give Severus instructions to inform Dumbledore of your existence immediately afterwards. Hopefully that will throw him for a loop. _

_Keep up with your studies, you're doing very well so far and go visit the basilisk at some point. I'm sure she'd appreciate your animagus form. _

_I will speak with you further at Christmas, regarding the Veil and how we are going to retrieve your godfather from it._

_Sincerely  
_

_Emperor Voldemort_

Raiden chuckled as he wandlessly incinerated the letter, gathering the ashes in a small container that he absently transfigured from a hanky nearby, again without touching his wand. Having the ability to do most of his magic wandlessly was a real thrill, the rest of the Avengers had given up on it after a few months but he had continued. It was fun, and exciting to be able to just concentrate and will something to happen and it did. Raiden liked the Star Wars films but didn't think of them in relation to his situation very often. It only really came up in the plan to humiliate and crush Dumbledore. No, the reason he liked wandless magic was that it was so very convenient and handy for him to use.

'It's a shame I have to hide it for another year or so though' he thought to himself as he rolled over. Seeing that it was almost time for bed he absently summoned his pyjamas and then used a switching spell to change into them without leaving the bed. Unfortunately he had to get up in order to brush his teeth but he was back in bed soon enough. Just before he went to sleep he noticed the door opening and someone that was distinctly female entered.

He raised his eyebrows when Daphne slid into the bed beside him but only wrapped his arms tightly round her as they slipped into sleep. The last thing he heard that night was "Sleep well Harry."

Accordingly, two days later, Raiden was at the Death Eater meeting which included every marked Death Eater. An illusion representing him had been left in his bed, charmed so it would act like him were anyone to get too nosy. As the meeting was being held at night, they shouldn't as they would all be asleep.

Most of the meeting was boring until Voldemort announced his plan. "Severus, I want you to inform Dumbledore of Lord Raiden's existence. Tell him that I have an apprentice and what his name is, but say nothing else. If pressed, say that he was robed and masked all the time and that none of you have any idea of what he looks like."

As Severus nodded, one of the younger Death Eaters spoke up. "Why is he your apprentice my Lord? He doesn't look very powerful."

All the older Death Eaters winced and Voldemort gestured for Raiden to step forward. "Deal with him" the Dark Lord ordered. Raiden nodded and smiled behind his mask. Raising his gloved hand, Raiden slowly closed it into a fist, using wandless magic to make the Death Eater choke. In a scarily accurate imitation of Darth Vader he hissed coldly, "I find your lack of faith disturbing."

Voldemort was laughing inwardly; it looked like Raiden had found a way to deal with problem Death Eaters without resorting to Unforgivables. He would have to see if Raiden could duplicate the magical lightning attack he'd used with Bellatrix, which would be an even greater deterrent. Seeing that the Death Eater that had so unwisely questioned his apprentice's power was about to pass out from lack of air he intervened.

"That's enough Lord Raiden. As incompetent as he is, I do need him." He added in Parseltongue _You really have been watching too much Star Wars._

Raiden looked at him and then replied smoothly, "As you wish Master" before dropping the Death Eater roughly on the ground. "I can do a lot more than that if you seriously annoy me" he growled before retreating to stand just behind and to the side of Voldemort's throne.

Lucius and Severus were smirking as the meeting ended. Raiden and Voldemort had introduced the two of them to the Star Wars films, as Voldemort had become quite a fan of Palpatine. They had appreciated Raiden's little demonstration and were quite willing to bet that no Death Eater would want to piss off their young Lord now.

Raiden himself was being portkeyed back to Hogwarts, into the Chamber of Secrets which was where he'd portkeyed out. The Chamber had a passage from the Slytherin dorms which he used to return to his bedroom. Draco was still fast asleep, and Raiden slid into bed, grateful to close his eyes. He was happy though, because he'd finally found a way to keep the Death Eaters off his back without resorting to the Unforgivables.

In the meantime, Snape had run up to Dumbledore's office. The Headmaster was still awake, having been waiting for his report. He paled upon hearing the news.

"Voldemort has an apprentice? Are you sure Severus?"

Snape nodded. "Yes Headmaster. He didn't say much, but he did show an impressive command of wandless magic when one of the Death Eaters questioned his right to be the Dark Lord's apprentice."

At Dumbledore's raised eyebrows, Snape smirked. "He used wandless magic to choke the Death Eater until he was almost unconscious and implied that he'd do worse if any of the others ever questioned his right to be there again."

Dumbledore looked pale and even a bit sick. "What is his name Severus, and do you know his age?" he asked. Snape smirked; here was his chance to clear Raiden of all suspicion from Dumbledore.

"The Dark Lord called him Lord Raiden, what his real name is I don't know. As for his age, when he spoke he sounded like he was between eighteen and twenty."

Dumbledore nodded and dismissed Snape, before sitting back in his chair. He wouldn't get much sleep that night, worried over how to get rid of this new threat.

'_If this apprentice isn't destroyed before Harry kills Voldemort then the Wizarding World is in big trouble' _he thought.


	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter Thirty-Seven: Problems with Potions**

Raiden smirked as he made his way to Potions class. It was about three quarters of the way through the year and he had finally got Professor Slughorn off his back. Sluggy, as he was known hadn't left him alone until Raiden had informed him quite bluntly that he hated people trying to use him to make themselves famous. That had shut Sluggy up quite nicely.

The young Dark Lord's lip curled in a sneer as he saw Ron Weasley sitting next to Hermione. The youngest Weasley boy had made it into NEWT potions only because Slughorn had less strict standards than Snape had had. Raiden would have been fine as he'd got an O on the OWLs, as had all of the Avengers, and under Snape, only the students with O grades in Potions would have been admitted. Under Slughorn however, anyone with an E or up could take the course.

Raiden sat with Daphne, just behind Ron and Hermione so that they could keep an eye on Ron. They knew that Hermione would be fine but they weren't going to risk him slipping something into Hermione's potion just to ruin it. It would be just like him, as he was insanely jealous of Hermione's ability to make almost any potion flawlessly the first time round.

Just as the last students were sitting down Slughorn entered the room and closed the door. "Settle down everyone" he said calmly. The sixth years looked at each other but stopped talking. Slughorn looked round and saw that they all had their books out. Ron had had to borrow one of the old ones at the start of the year and had not replaced it yet.

"Today you will all be making the Draught of Living Death. The person that makes the best attempt will win this tiny bottle of Felix Felicis potion. Can anyone tell me what that is?" Slughorn asked expectantly. Raiden and Daphne looked at each other and shrugged while Hermione as usual put her hand up.

"It's a luck potion professor. It gives you good luck in any situation that you use it but its effects are temporary."

Slughorn nodded. "Very good. Ten points to Ravenclaw. Everyone gather the ingredients for the Draught of Living Death, you will all be making this potion separately. Quickly now."

Daphne went up to gather the ingredients for both her and Raiden. He in turn, set up both their workstations how they liked them. As she came back she was frowning.

"Keep an eye on the Weasel. He picked up an ingredient that wasn't part of the list. It could be potentially problematic" she murmured as they began. Raiden nodded as he set up his potion base and got it simmering. At the halfway stage he frowned as he came to the sophoporous beans. He remembered Snape saying something about this potion, and how to get the best results. What was it?

Looking round he saw Daphne following the instructions which said to cut up the beans to release the juice and it triggered a memory.

"_Crush the beans with the flat side of the knife as it releases the juice better" _Snape had said in a lecture last year. Raiden smirked and followed the memory, only to gape at the amount of juice the small beans produced. He gathered it up and put in his potion, smiling as it turned the light shade of lilac that the book said it should be.

He felt someone watching him and looked up. Hermione was glaring at him and he noticed that her potion was still deep purple, as was Daphne's. Shrugging, he returned his attention to his potion.

Once it was finished he bottled it and looked round at the other students' attempts. Most were OK, but his looked to be about the best. He had looked up the Draught of Living Death after Snape's lecture the year before and had discovered something else that he'd used in the potion today. Snape had mentioned that the potion was better made if the brewer added one clockwise stir after every seven counterclockwise stirs until the potion turned clear like water.

Raiden smiled in satisfaction. His was the clearest in the class, even Hermione and Daphne's weren't as good as theirs were still purple. Slughorn was going round the class inspecting the results and when he got to Raiden's he grinned.

"We have a winner class. Here you go Mr Potter, one bottle of Felix Felicis, good for twelve hours of luck. Use it well."

Ron was fuming with jealousy. His potion looked like liquid liquorice, and he wasn't happy. Carefully he picked up the extra ingredient he'd collected at the start of the class and threw it into Raiden's cauldron which was still bubbling softly as it cooled down.

The effect was instantaneous. The cauldron exploded, throwing Raiden and Daphne all the way to the back of the class, where they slammed against the wall with a dull thud. As the class looked on in horror, Daphne groaned and tried to sit up. Raiden, who had thrown himself in front of Daphne in an effort to protect her, wasn't moving at all. He had been drenched in his potion and was completely unresponsive.

Professor Slughorn was not happy. He dashed over to Raiden and Daphne and checked them thoroughly. "Take both of them to the hospital wing. Tell Professor Snape what happened, and Madam Pomfrey. Move, now!"

The Avengers leapt into action, Draco levitating Raiden while Hermione levitated Daphne. Blaise followed behind them, while the rest of the Slytherins formed a sort of guard as they headed to the hospital wing. As they left they could hear Slughorn yelling himself hoarse at Ron, and promising all sorts of horrible punishments.

Madam Pomfrey was in her office when the Avengers burst into the infirmary, levitating Daphne and Raiden with them. The two unfortunate students were placed on beds next to each other and the other Avengers, plus the rest of the sixth year Slytherins sat near them.

Pomfrey ran her wand over both Raiden and Daphne and scowled. "What happened? Miss Greengrass is concussed, as well as having a fractured arm and bruised ribs. Mr Potter is more seriously hurt. He has several broken ribs, a broken arm and burns from an explosion. He is also not responding to anything I do."

Snape had arrived during this little speech and he was scowling as well. "That list is fairly extensive Poppy. Do we know what happened?"

Hermione spoke up then, seeing that the Slytherins were too focused on Raiden and Daphne to answer. "We were brewing the Draught of Living Death, and the person with the best attempt at it would win a small bottle of Felix Felicis potion. Harry's was the best, and he was just putting the potion in his bag when Ron Weasley dropped something in his cauldron. I don't know what ingredient it was, only that it wasn't part of the ingredient list for the Draught and then his cauldron blew up."

"Harry put himself in between Daphne and the cauldron, taking the full blast while shielding her. Most of the breaks and other things would have come from their impact with the back wall. They left a nice dent in it" Draco commented.

Snape frowned. "Draught of Living Death, was it not finished?"

"No sir. We got it as close as possible in an hour. Harry's was a light pink, almost clear. It was still bubbling softly, cooling down as the flame was off. Will they recover?" Blaise asked in a strained voice.

Snape looked as his students, and then at Hermione, who, while not being a Slytherin, was sort of an honorary one as she was in and out of their common room all the time. His expression softened slightly as he replied, "I will do my best to help cure them. The antidote to the Draught of Living Death is complex, and when you factor in the added ingredient that made it explode, as well as the potion's not quite finished status, you have a problem. Nevertheless, Mr Potter is in no real danger, the potion will keep him in a sort of stasis for a while, until I come up with an antidote. Now, I know you're all worried but you need to go to whatever class you have next. I'm sure that Madam Pomfrey would like some peace and quiet to tend to her patients."

The Slytherins all grumbled at leaving their friends but obediently left as soon as Snape glared at them. The Slytherin Head of House followed them out, intent on talking to both Professor Slughorn and Professor McGonagall, to find out what Ron had thrown in Raiden's cauldron. He would then add his own punishment onto whatever Slughorn and McGonagall had imposed.

In Riddle Manor Voldemort was hissing in pain, as he struggled to make sense of why his bond with Raiden had flared with pain and had then become muted somehow, as though Raiden was half there and half not. He downed a pain relief potion and then grabbed some parchment. A minute or two later and a black owl took wing, flying at top speed to Hogwarts.

Snape was busy with the antidote to Raiden's accidental drenching when the owl came down the special mail chute. He opened it and paled before writing a hasty reply and tossing the owl back up the chute again. He turned back to the potion; it would not look good if Raiden wasn't home during the holidays. The Dark Lord would not be pleased.

Ron was not having a good time of it. He'd been yelled at by Professors Slughorn, McGonagall and Snape, been treated to a Howler from his mother, the Gryffindors were shocked and upset and the Slytherins were being downright vicious towards him.

'All because I almost killed their precious Chosen One' Ron growled to himself as he made his way up to Gryffindor Tower after his latest detention with Filch. He looked at the pile of homework on his bedside table and shook his head. He was too tired to do it then, maybe later…. He was asleep the moment his head hit his pillow.

Raiden was still asleep in the infirmary. Daphne had recovered in a few days and now spent every free moment by his bed. The rest of the Avengers joined her at various times, helping her with homework and other things. They were all trusting that Snape could come through with a cure fast. Raiden wouldn't like being stuck in the infirmary for long.

A week after the accident, the Avengers were all present in the hospital wing as Madam Pomfrey gave Raiden the antidote. A few minutes passed and then Raiden gasped for air for a couple of seconds until his breathing evened out. Once he'd recovered, he looked round and smiled. "Hi guys" he said with a small smile.

That was all it took as Daphne flung herself at him and hugged him tightly, sobbing into his shoulder. The startled and vaguely panicked look on Raiden's face had the other males in the room smirking while Hermione was trying to pry Daphne off her boyfriend long enough for Hermione to have a go at hugging him to death too.

Once everyone had calmed down Raiden looked at Snape and asked calmly, "So what happened while I was sleeping?" Snape smirked and replied "Not much. You have some homework to make up, which I'm sure your friends will help with, and Ronald Weasley has been given detention for the rest of the year, to be served with either me or Filch. I did push for his expulsion but the headmaster overruled me on that."

Raiden scowled. "Of course, he always favors his pet Gryffies" he said bitterly. "If it had been one of us we would have been expelled." Snape nodded curtly.

"I agree Mr Potter. A similar situation occurred when I was at school here, and the Gryffindors involved got let off lightly too."

At the interested looks on his students' faces Snape elaborated. "Mr Potter's godfather, Sirius Black thought it would be a funny idea to send me down that secret passage under the Whomping Willow on a full moon. Remus Lupin, who was one of Black's friends, is as you know, a werewolf. I didn't know this at the time, nor did I know that that passage led to his hiding place where he transformed. If it weren't for James Potter I would be dead."

There was dead silence as Raiden tried to digest the fact that his godfather had apparently tried to murder his head of house while they were students. "Didn't he know that if his little _joke _had succeeded that Remus would have been executed?"

Snape shook his head. "Your godfather, Mr Potter, wasn't one to think things through. I do know that Lupin and your father didn't speak to him for months afterwards, but the point of this little story is that I was given a detention for being out after curfew while they just had points taken off. Never mind the fact that I almost died!"

Raiden shook his head. "It's no wonder you hate Sirius. Is that why you were prepared to hate me back in first year Professor? Because I reminded you too much of my father?"

Snape nodded. "I'm not proud of it but that is the reason. I don't hate you though; the only thing you share with your father now is a physical resemblance, although you do still have some quite odd notions of decency and honor that are pure Gryffindor."

Raiden smirked. "I like you too Professor. Now, how much time do I have to make up my work and can I do it back in the common room?"

Snape smirked back and replied, "That is up to Madam Pomfrey Potter, even I'm not allowed to overrule her in matters of student health." He was very amused to see Raiden promptly start pleading with the nurse to be let out. The Avengers all added their pleas as well, and finally Raiden was allowed out, under strict supervision from his friends.

As soon as they got back to the common room Raiden pulled his pile of missed work towards him and picked up a quill. "Right. Who's going to help me with that essay that McGonagall assigned on Tuesday?"

The Avengers all looked at each other and shook their heads. Only Raiden could want to start homework immediately after returning from the infirmary. Upon seeing an annoyed scowl being directed at them though, they sighed and began helping him catch up.

**Author Note: Hello everyone, yes I'm finally getting around to reposting the rest of Dark Apprentice. Thank you for being so patient while I sorted out my real life issues. Work has been extremely busy lately, and add in the fact that I've been catching up on a lot of study as well and I have had literally no time to write much less update anything. Still, hopefully I've organised things enough that I can study and still write and update. **

**Hope everyone had a good Easter **

**Padawan Lynne**


	38. Chapter 38

**Chapter Thirty Eight: Conversations and Revenge.**

As Raiden walked into his dormitory after a particularly stressful day in classes, he noticed his diary vibrating on his bedside table. Sighing, he threw his bag onto the floor by his bed, lay down on the duvet and pulled the curtains round, giving him privacy.

When he was secure, he opened the diary. As he'd thought, Voldemort wanted an update on his general state of health after his encounter in Potions.

_I'm fine master, nothing's gone horribly wrong. Could you please stop worrying?_

_No. And I reserve the right to give you a thorough health check over Christmas. May I at least be assured that you and your group of Avengers are planning a suitable revenge on Ronald Weasley for this utterly reprehensible affair?_

_Yes we are. We need to discuss it properly though. It will be appropriately nasty; you have my assurances of that._

_Good. I thought I ought to tell you that our plans for slowly changing our public image are underway. I had Lucius write up a press release today, we'll send it when the time is right._

_Good. Dumbledore isn't suspicious of me at all._

_Keep it that way. Has he said anything to you regarding my new apprentice?_

_Did you take another without informing me master? I'm hurt._

_Brat. Of course I didn't. As far as Dumbledore knows though, you and my apprentice are two separate people, which you very well know. Stop being dense._

_I'm not, just trying to lighten the situation. Classes were crappy today and I have a test tomorrow._

_Ah. I'll let you get some sleep then. I expect to see you over Christmas._

_OK. Goodnight master._

_Goodnight Raiden._

The diary went blank and Raiden yawned, putting it away in the drawer of his bedside table. Just as he was preparing for bed, Snape knocked on the door of the boys' dormitory.

"Mr Potter, the Headmaster wishes to see you now" he stated.

Raiden frowned and replied, "Does it have to be now Professor? I'm just about to go to bed."

"Yes I know Mr Potter but it shouldn't take long. He just wants to discuss a couple of things with you and then you can sleep."

Raiden sighed, changed back into his uniform and followed Snape through the dungeons and up to the main hall. The rest of the trip was in silence, the only sounds were their footsteps and the light swishing of their robes.

"Ah Harry you're here. Good, that's very good. Now, do you know why you're here?" Dumbledore asked genially. Raiden scowled and covered a yawn with his hand.

"No Headmaster I don't, however I'm rather tired so could I have an explanation please? I have a test tomorrow that I want to be awake for."

"Yes of course. Now, the first bit of news is this, I have found one of Voldemort's horcruxes. It's the gold locket, I was wondering if you'd like to come with me to retrieve it on Saturday."

Raiden blinked. Voldemort had left a fake locket in place of the real one and it looked as though Dumbledore had fallen for the ruse hook, line and sinker. He stifled a laugh, making it seem like another yawn and nodded.

"Yes Professor I'd like it a lot. Thank you. What else?"

Dumbledore frowned. "The next bit of news is rather disturbing Harry. It has come to my attention that Voldemort has taken an apprentice. He's around eighteen or twenty and is very proficient in wandless magic. I want to train you in wandless magic so should you ever meet him in battle you will be able to have a chance to beat him."

Raiden now had to really struggle to hold in his laughter. He almost choked trying to do so and Dumbledore leaned forward. "Are you alright Harry? I didn't mean to distress you."

Raiden looked up. "I agree to the lessons sir but my wandless magic may not be very good. After all, we're learning silent spellcasting in Defence at the moment and I'm hopeless in that area at present."

This was a blatant lie of course; Raiden was only giving the appearance of struggling with silent spellcasting. His friends, Snape and Voldemort all knew the truth, that being that his ability to do silent spells was better than his spoken spells. His wandless casting was even better than that too.

He left the office and as soon as he was in the dungeons again, Snape having escorted him back, he started chuckling. That chuckling soon turned to helpless laughter and he slid to the floor, holding his stomach as he tried to stop.

"What on earth is the matter Mr Potter?" Snape enquired. It was not like Raiden to suddenly burst out laughing. Raiden shook his head.

"I'll explain in your office sir. Too public out here" he finally gasped out, having got control of his emotions again. Once they were inside the office and the usual privacy wards were up Raiden slumped into his chair.

"Dumbledore wants to train me in wandless magic to counteract this evil apprentice of the Dark Lord and he wants me to go with him to pick up the horcrux that he's found."

Snape thought that through before his eyes widened. "He doesn't know that the locket he's found is a fake and he has no idea that you and the Dark Lord's apprentice are one and the same!"

Raiden nodded and Snape's lips curled up in an amused fashion. "How are you going to handle the lessons when I have it on good authority that you're even better at wandless casting than you are at casting with your wand? Also, that your difficulty with silent spellcasting is an act."

Raiden smirked. "You know I've been getting a bit edgy lately. Madam Pomfrey says it's my body getting ready for my magical maturity this coming summer. All I have to do is put a little too much power into my spells and Dumbledore will think that I have control issues."

"Yes and then at graduation next year when all of the plans that you and the Dark Lord have devised come into action, and you reveal your true colors, you can give a display of wandless magic at the same time and shock Dumbledore senseless."

Raiden gave an evil grin. "Yes. He'll be shocked and very very unhappy with me I'd say."

Snape smirked. "Yes. A word of advice though. Until you can beat our Lord in a duel on your own with both of you starting fresh, then do not attempt to duel Dumbledore. Even our Lord finds it hard to win against him; all their duels have ended in a draw so far."

Raiden nodded before yawning again. "Sorry sir, may I be excused, I do need to sleep." Snape nodded and released the spells round the office, letting Raiden go. He then sat back in his chair and contemplated the next year to come. Graduation at the end would be far more entertaining than usual he thought.

The next morning, as Raiden and the rest of his friends came out of their Transfiguration exam they bumped into Ron. The red head looked very nervous as the Avengers surrounded him in a loose circle so he had to face Raiden.

"What do you want Potter" he blustered. Raiden sneered at him.

"Nothing Weasley. Except to warn you that it's not wise to mess with a snake. Have a nice day."

He then turned and walked down the corridor, headed for Ancient Runes. Daphne caught up with him and he smiled, putting an arm round her shoulders. He'd given serious thought to making her his and had decided to do it, he just needed three things to make Daphne his fiancé. One was a ring. Two was permission from her parents. The third was that Daphne had to say yes. The first was easy; the second and third might be more tricky.

They only had morning classes that day so after lunch the Avengers congregated outside to discuss revenge on Ron for the Potions incident. Blaise was lounging against a tree with Hermione sitting next to him, while Draco was sitting across from them and lying on the grass. Raiden and Daphne were sitting against another tree with Daphne lying back against Raiden and his arms were encircling her waist.

"So, are we agreed on the spider idea?" Blaise asked. Draco nodded.

"Yes I think so. How are we going to get into the Gryffs common room though, none of us know the password."

Raiden snickered at that, earning a glare from Draco. "Relax, everything's sorted out. Slytherin built most of the secret passages you know, and one of them happens to lead from our common room right up to the Gryffs common room. It starts from behind the portrait of Slytherin up above the fireplace and ends in a portrait of Gryffindor above their fireplace. I don't think anyone knows about it though, as it can only be activated by a parselmouth. I found it by accident."

The Avengers all looked gleeful. "How are we going to get him to stay in bed though?" Daphne wondered.

"That's where this comes in" Hermione chuckled, holding up a bottle of super strong magical glue. "It's guaranteed to stick anything together and can't be unstuck for a thousand years, or so the warranty said. Get this onto his bedsheets and he'll be stuck in his bed and won't be able to move."

Draco suddenly smirked. "Yes and if we stick the bedsheets to the actual bed frame itself then the sheets won't be able to be moved either. They'll have to cut him out of his bed and his pyjamas too."

They all looked at each other before bursting into laughter at the idea. "So, Raiden, you go up and arrange that sometime soon, remember that he has to actually be able to get into the bed first. Maybe disillusion yourself and do it while he's sleeping. Then we set the illusions and leave."

"Who says it has to be a total illusion though" Daphne remarked, holding up a black spider in a jar. "It's not poisonous but its bite will hurt and given Weasel's fear of spiders it would just add to the terror."

The boys laughed at this but Hermione frowned. "The illusions will be bad enough Daphne; do we really have to put a real spider in there as well?"

"Hmm, it would add to things but we're after a good scare here, we don't want to send him insane" Raiden remarked, examining the spider with interest. "I vote we leave the real spider out of it, the illusions will work just fine and the spider can be kept for a later date, maybe drop it down his shirt in Charms."

There was more laughter at that and the planning session continued, with the final plan to be executed that evening. Even with Raiden's cryptic threat earlier that day, there was no known way for the Slytherins to enter Gryffindor Tower without the password so however many suspicions there were, nothing would ever be proved.

Later that night, Raiden was up in the Gryffindor boys' dormitory, hiding under both a disillusionment charm and his invisibility cloak. He could have hidden himself using his wandless ability but decided not to. The illusions were all going to be done via wandless magic anyway, to prevent any wand signatures being left around the room. Wandless magic could not be traced to any one person as it faded into the ambient magic of the castle and therefore left no trace.

Raiden smirked as he advanced on his sleeping prey. The rest of the Avengers were in the Slytherin boys' dormitory watching via a recording spell. Raiden didn't know that Snape had joined them too, and if he had he would have been shocked.

"Now for some proper payback" he murmured to himself. He quickly stuck Ron's pyjamas to the bedsheets. Ron didn't even notice, he was so deeply asleep. Then Raiden went on to glue the bedsheets to the frame of the bed itself. With Ron essentially trapped in not only his bed but also his pyjamas, the young Dark Lord then set up the illusions. They would hold for a few minutes and then fade into nothingness.

Grinning maliciously he murmured "_Aguamenti_" which was the water spell. Ron woke up spluttering and then noticed the spiders.

"ARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH" he screamed. In all the confusion, no one noticed when Raiden slipped out the Gryffindor portrait hole when someone went to find Professor McGonagall. He hurried back to Slytherin and slid into his dorm, to find his friends and Professor Snape chuckling at Ron's attempts to banish the spiders, followed by his dorm mates and then the prefects and finally Professor McGonagall herself.

"Very well done Mr Potter. The illusions were excellent and I think the addition of the glue made it even better. I would award points but that would be too suspicious. Very amusing though. How I wish I'd known about that passageway when I was here."

"It wouldn't have done you any good Professor, only a Parselmouth can open it" Raiden commented as he slid into bed. Snape looked disappointed and Raiden swore that he heard the man utter "Oh damn it!" as he walked out. Raiden then spent an enjoyable fifteen minutes watching the chaos that reigned in Gryffindor tower. It would be interesting to see what they did with Ron. The glue was charmed to be resistant to any form of magical removal. In other words, once it was stuck on something, it didn't come off for a thousand years.

The next day Raiden opened his diary. Dipping his quill in the ink, he wrote, _Mission successfully accomplished. Revenge suitably enacted. _

A few minutes later there was a reply. _Dare I ask what it was?_

_You can. Basically, we used super strong magical glue to stick Ron's bedsheets to the bed frame and then stuck his pyjamas to the bedsheets. I toyed with the idea of sticking his pyjamas to him as well but decided not to. After all, he does need to attend classes so we can terrorise him a bit more. Then I set up illusions of extremely large spiders, charmed to run up and down him and be resistant to any dispelling charms. They were set to fade after a few minutes. There was complete chaos in Gryffindor tower last night._

_That's very very good Raiden. I fully approve. Do you plan to do anything more to him?_

_Not really. Maybe drop a live spider down his shirt in Charms in a few weeks. Give things time to cool down so the two events aren't linked._

_That's best. Do you have any other news for me?_

_Hmm. Oh yes I do. Dumbledore summoned me to his office a day or so ago, after our last conversation. He has heard of your apprentice and wants to give me lessons in wandless magic. He has also taken the fake Horcrux bait and is taking me along to get it. Is there anything I should do to help him?_

_No. The locket is at the bottom of a basin filled with a weakening potion. Dumbledore will have to drink the potion to get the locket. The lake across which you need to sail is also filled with Inferi which will attack should you take the locket from the basin. The only thing that will stop them is fire so have your flame spell at the ready. I do not want to hear that you died doing this, am I clear?_

_Yes master._

_Good. Dumbledore should be weakened by the potion but it will not kill him. I have given Severus instructions to brew the antidote for him, I do not want Dumbledore dead yet. In another few months you will attain your full power and then, my dear apprentice, you will be a force to be reckoned with._

_You think so?_

_I do. I believe that when you come into your full power, you will be more powerful than both Dumbledore and me._

_But that prophecy said that I would be your equal in power._

_Yes but prophecies can be wrong. Not all prophecies are fulfilled Raiden, and in a different world we might have been trying to kill each other. Plus you have something I don't._

_What?_

_You have the ability to use the Dark Arts yet remain largely unaffected by their use. Where I sank into them, reveling in their destructive capabilities, you have not. You use them to great effect when needed but you haven't sunk into them the way I have. You have an anchor to the lighter part of your soul, that being the lovely Miss Greengrass._

_Yes. If anything happened to her I don't know what I'd do._

_I do. You'd lose all reason and all regard for life and become a Dark Lord far worse than me. _

_Why did you tell me this?_

_Because I want Dumbledore to be strong when we reveal your true colors. That way, when you beat him in a full out duel, you will have proven yourself the stronger wizard. _

_You seem to be certain there will be a duel._

_I am. Dumbledore will not accede to our policies for the Wizarding World quietly. He's been in power too long and likes it. He won't go down without a fight, even though he will be shocked and hurt at your "betrayal", he will still be a cunning and dangerous opponent._

_Professor Snape said that I shouldn't challenge Dumbledore until I could beat you in a full out duel with both of us starting fresh._

_He's right. Mind you, I will be stepping up that part of your training intensely in the holidays and before and after your maturity. After your maturity you will need to learn to control your power levels again, which is essentially what the seventh year of Hogwarts is about. Most students by then have gone through it and are learning not only new spells but also how to control their full power levels. Also, it is the time when they discover which branch or branches of magic their magic works best with. _

Don't we discover that in the lower years of schooling?

_You get an idea yes, by which classes are easier for you than others. However, some people don't decide which area they like best until their seventh year. Some do decide before that, Severus is a prime example of this but most don't. You don't need to worry about this though, just take what comes and don't worry about it. _

_OK. Um, what do you want me to do with Dumbledore's lessons?_

_Have fun confusing him. Don't let on about your true abilities though._

_I already knew that._

_I know. I just thought I'd remind you. It is difficult holding back your true abilities, I know you've been doing it for years but it will be difficult all the same. Just don't slip up now._

_Yes master. I'll see you at Christmas._

_Yes. Have a good day._

_You too. Go murder some helpless politician or something._

_Brat._

_Git._

_Why do I put up with you?_

_Because you love me?_

_I don't do love! I'm a Dark Lord!_

_I know. But you do anyway._

_Only you and Nagini._

_Hah, you admitted it._

_You will be tortured if you let one word of this slip out._

_Ooh now I'm scared._

_Yeah right. Goodbye._

_Bye master._

Raiden shut the diary and chuckled, it was so much fun winding his master up sometimes. Throwing the diary on his bed, he went up to the owlery. He had a letter to write to Daphne's parents.


	39. Chapter 39

**Chapter Thirty Nine: Lessons and Horcruxes**

Blaise was waiting nervously outside the Ravenclaw common room for Hermione to come out. He had something to ask her and he wasn't sure if it would go over very well. Finally Hermione walked out and stopped upon seeing who was waiting for her.

"Hi Blaise. How are you?"

Blaise swallowed. "Fine Hermione. Um, can we go somewhere less public? I want to ask you something but not here."

Hermione frowned, puzzled, but agreed. The two walked outside in relative silence, although it was a comfortable one. They reached the spot where the Avengers usually sat and flopped down on the grass. Hermione saw that Blaise was nervous about something and put her hand on his, surprised to feel him flinch slightly.

"What is it Blaise? I'm not about to bite you know" she said with a slight grin.

Blaise smiled back and nodded. "OK. Um, you know how Harry and Daphne have been together unofficially for a while now. And Draco has his own girlfriend, Nora Moon." Hermione nodded to show she understood. "Well, you and I are the only unattached ones. And, well, I, I've started to like you as more than just a friend."

Hermione looked at Blaise. "You've started to think of me as a potential girlfriend?" she queried. Blaise nodded, not quite able to meet her eyes. Hermione smiled. "What do your parents think about this? I mean, you're a pureblood, and I'm a Muggleborn."

Blaise looked up at her, a fierce determination in his gaze. "My parents don't care about that sort of thing Hermione. Neither do I. You're a powerful and intelligent witch; don't let anyone tell you otherwise." His gaze softened and he reached out and took her hand, inwardly jumping in delight when she didn't pull away.

"My parents are neutral on the blood issue. They may be supporters of the Dark Lord but they really only care about how magically powerful a person is. They don't mix with Muggles a lot but they don't actively dislike them. They just want our worlds to be separate. To them, a witch is a witch, no matter her background." Looking away for a minute he gathered his courage before looking back at Hermione. "I know you probably don't feel the same way about me that I do about you but I'd like a chance to change that. If you don't feel the same way at the end of next year then I'll step back and let you choose who you want to be with. Is that OK?"

Hermione was in shock. Blaise was the quiet one of the Avengers and he didn't often give many hints as to how he was feeling. She supposed she should have noticed, as Blaise had been looking at her across the Great Hall at meals, had popped up wherever she was, and had sat next to her in classes for a while now, but she had just thought that he was being friendly.

"Um, Blaise, I, I don't really know what to say. I don't yet feel the same way, you're right about that but, I'm amenable to letting you change my mind." She then leaned forward and rather awkwardly gave him a quick hug. She felt his arms go round her and they stayed that way for a brief time. When they pulled away from each other both were smiling.

"Thank you" Blaise said as he rose, before offering his hand to pull Hermione to her feet. Daringly, he gave her a quick kiss before silently conjuring a rose and presenting it to her. Blushing slightly, Hermione took it and conjured a vase, putting the rose in it.

"Thank you Blaise" she said. The two walked back to the castle, neither noticing when their hands intertwined.

They were met at the front door by Draco and Nora. The two of them had got together during Raiden's unfortunate experience with the Draught of Living Death, and their relationship had progressed slowly but smoothly from there. There were the occasional arguments but they got over them.

"Hey guys" Draco said cheerfully. He noticed their intertwined hands and raised one eyebrow. "So the two of you finally got together huh? When did this happen may I ask and has anyone informed Harry?"

"For your information we aren't together yet, I'm going to court her and see if I can get her to fall in love with me by the end of next year" Blaise replied coolly. "As for informing Harry, we haven't had the chance seeing that he's nowhere to be found. I haven't seen him at all today actually, where is he?"

"He's with the Headmaster, having lessons in wandless magic" Nora answered. She blushed slightly under the combined gazes of the three Avengers and continued, "He told me that the Headmaster thinks that he's in danger from our Lord's new apprentice and wants to train him in wandless magic. I don't know why though, isn't Harry as good with wandless magic as he is with his wand?"

Draco shushed her quickly. "Yes he is Nora but you can't let anyone else know that. It's our little secret among the Avengers. As for his being in danger, I predict that if Harry ever meets this apprentice, he'll turn him into dust."

Nora nodded, happy with this explanation, but Blaise, Hermione and Draco all shared a look. It was time to talk to Harry about bringing the secret keeping parchment out again and possibly inducting Nora into the grand secret. She'd shown Draco she could be trusted and with the parchment, she wouldn't be able to betray them anyway.

Up in Dumbledore's office, Raiden was struggling to hold in his power. Voldemort had been right; it was very difficult to make it look like he was struggling with the exercise that the Headmaster had set him, when in reality he could do it in his sleep.

The exercise was to levitate a feather wandlessly, and Raiden was growing frustrated. Suddenly he had an idea. With a small growl he sent the feather rocketing towards the ceiling, and once there it burst into flames. Raiden collapsed forward in his seat, and used his magic to make sweat appear on his face.

Dumbledore looked at the smoking feather now embedded in his ceiling and then back at Raiden. "That's very good for a first attempt Mr Potter, but I don't think that I asked you to set it on fire."

Raiden glared at him. "I lost control of my magic. This is very difficult sir, and as my body is currently preparing itself for my magical maturity this coming summer I'm getting power spikes as well."

Dumbledore nodded calmly. "Very well then. I won't ask any more of you today. Keep practicing your concentration exercises, and focus on your inner magic. Those skills are essential to grasping wandless magic completely. Go and have some food, recover some energy."

Raiden got all the way to the bottom of the staircase before he allowed himself to smirk. He'd accomplished his goal; he'd made Dumbledore think that he wasn't very good with wandless magic. _'Now to just keep having tiny improvements each week, with a setback every so often'_ he mused as he ran to join his friends and tell them what had happened.

He ran into them in the Great Hall, and flopped down on the bench beside Draco. "Hey guys, what's going on" he panted.

Draco eyed him and Daphne draped an arm round his shoulders. "We're fine Harry, how are you? You seem a bit out of breath" Draco observed. Raiden snorted.

"Yeah well, you try doing wandless magic for several hours and then tell me how you feel. It's exhausting" he complained. He was doing this for Nora's benefit, as he didn't know where she stood on the trustworthiness scale. He noticed the other Avengers looking at each other and scowled.

"OK what's going on that you lot haven't told me" he demanded.

Blaise was the one to answer him as the others wouldn't meet his eyes. "Um, Harry, you remember that secret we all swore to keep, well, we'd like Nora to be inducted into it too."

Harry looked at Draco, who was currently holding Nora's hand, and then at Blaise who had unconsciously grasped Hermione's hand as well. "Can she be trusted?" he asked, looking straight at Nora, and using some passive Legilemency on her. Snape had taught him how to do it during the holidays, and it had greatly helped with discerning who was truly on his side or not.

"Yes I can be Harry" Nora replied, and Raiden withdrew from her mind, satisfied that she wouldn't betray them. Then again, once she signed the parchment, she couldn't betray them anyway.

"Fine, we'll meet in the dormitory tonight after dinner" Raiden decided and stood up. "I'm going for a walk, Daphne, would you mind coming with me?" Daphne immediately stood and when the rest of the Avengers would have stood as well, Raiden gave a minute shake of his head. He wanted to do this properly.

Daphne was confused. She'd seen Raiden receive a letter from an owl that she recognized as her family's owl. He'd seemed pleased at the contents, and the next time they went to Hogsmeade he'd disappeared for a brief period, and when he'd reappeared he'd been holding a nondescript bag which he had not let out of his sight since. Raiden was leading her further from the school and she was just starting to get worried when he stopped.

"Um, Raiden, where are we?" she asked. Raiden looked round at the clearing they were in. It was surrounded by trees that formed a green canopy up above, through which a single ray of sunlight was gleaming. A small waterfall trickled down some rocks into a pool nearby and there were several unicorns that he could spot hiding amongst the trees. He smiled at his girlfriend and led her into the sunlight.

"I spent several weeks deciding how to do this Daphne. I would have written you a poem but we both know I suck at that. My singing is even worse so I looked for a good spot that would be memorable for you, for both of us. That letter that you saw me get from your family, and my disappearance in Hogsmeade, were both leading up to this. Leaving Daphne to stand in the sunlight, Raiden knelt down on one knee and pulled a small box from his pocket.

"Daphne Marie Greengrass, will you marry me when we leave school?"

Daphne was stunned; there was no other word for it. She knew that Raiden loved her, but had thought that his Dark Arts training would have extinguished it. She stood there for long enough without answering that Raiden got the wrong idea. Shoulders slumping slightly he got up and turned away.

"I knew it might have been too soon, but Daph, you could just say that" he muttered. Daphen snapped out of her stupor and realized that Raiden had taken her silence the wrong way. Taking three steps forward she yanked him back to stand with her in the sunlight and then kissed him.

"Yes" she said before kissing him again.

Raiden stood stock still as her answer penetrated his brain. "You, you mean it?" he asked as his arms came up to hold her.

Daphne pulled away long enough to say, "Yes you Gryffindor in Slytherin clothing, I mean it! I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

Raiden chuckled before saying, "Gryffindor in Slytherin clothing? What's that supposed to mean?"

Daphne smirked. "What I mean, my dear Dark Apprentice, is that no matter how close you are to our Lord, no matter what you've done, your parents still shine through in you. You might have been our Lord's apprentice since you were eight but at your core, you are still Light. And that is what our world needs, a leader who isn't Light, or Dark, but one who understands both. And that person, my dear Raiden, is you."

"First my master now you. Both of you seem to think that I'm going to save the Wizarding World" Raiden muttered.

Daphne nodded. "We do. If you hadn't managed to change our Lord's mind on the Muggleborns then he would be running amok, creating chaos and anarchy right now. Instead, your ideas have led him to do a relatively peaceful takeover, with only minimum deaths on either side. Dumbledore is our only real enemy now, with the Ministry slowly falling under our control."

Raiden smirked. "Yes that's true. Do you have any plans for Christmas?" Daphne shook her head. "Well, do you want to spend it at Malfoy Manor with me? Voldemort will also be there, as will Hermione and the rest of the Avengers."

Daphne thought for a minute. "What about my parents?" Raiden smiled.

"We can't have a proper engagement announcement without them there can we?" he replied with a smirk. Daphne merely kissed him once more and arm in arm they began to walk back to the school. Daphne suddenly stopped and stared at her left hand in shock.

"What is it?" Raiden asked. Daphne turned to him.

"In all that confusion over my answer back there Potter, you forgot one important thing." Raiden raised an eyebrow and then winced when Daphne shook her finger in his face and said, "You forgot to put the ring on my finger!"

He blinked, she was quite right. Hastily he pulled it back out of his pocket and put it on, seeing Daphne sigh in contentment as it settled in it's rightful place. They looked up as there was a trill of song above them. Fawkes flew round their heads twice, singing a joyful song before disappearing.

"Well, at least we've got the approval of Dumbledore's phoenix" Daphne joked as they walked back to Hogwarts. Raiden merely smiled, feeling like nothing on Earth could make him feel down at that moment.

Several weeks later, just before Christmas, Raiden was once again "practicing" wandless magic with the Headmaster. He had "progressed" to being able to banish and summon objects, with a few setbacks to give the illusion that he was still finding it difficult. Dumbledore didn't seem too upset however, and when Raiden had lowered the teacup he was levitating back to the table he leaned forward.

"That's enough for tonight Harry. I was wondering if you'd like to retrieve the locket Horcrux with me." Raiden blinked. "I was under the impression that you'd retrieved it some time ago sir" he replied, and indeed it had been a couple of weeks since Dumbledore had first told him of discovering the fake locket. The Headmaster nodded. "I had planned to but then I was distracted by other affairs here at the school, and with the Ministry. Tonight is the first free night I have had since and I do not wish to waste it. Are you coming?"

Raiden nodded, the instructions from Voldemort surging through his mind. He was to let Dumbledore drink the potion and let him take the locket, while keeping the Inferi at bay. He allowed Dumbledore to Side-Along Apparate him to a clifftop, which he scaled down easily with the help of a few sticking charms on his hands and feet. One hand and foot at a time he climbed down, dissolving and reapplying the charms as he went. He looked rather like a human spider, doing this but he didn't care. Dumbledore floated down past him using a levitation charm and Raiden scowled.

"Showoff" he muttered, just as he reached the bottom. Following Dumbledore into the cave passage he had to admire his master's way of hiding the fake Horcrux. It was ingenious. They got to the edge of the lake and stepped into the boat which carried them to the small island in the middle.

"Now Harry, I want you to drink the potion" Dumbledore instructed.

Raiden looked surprised. "Sir? I thought you wanted me to keep whatever's in that lake at bay while you grab the locket."

Dumbledore shook his head. "No my boy. I can keep them at bay better than you can and the potion won't harm you. Now drink it."

Raiden shook his head in disgust. With a mental thought of _'I am so dead once Voldemort finds out'_ he sighed and began to drink. Almost immediately, he felt the effects. He groaned, falling to his knees and sensed Dumbledore kneeling beside him. "Make it stop sir" he hissed, feeling thoroughly sick. He saw Dumbledore holding a goblet to his lips. He heard Dumbledore telling him that it would stop as long as he kept drinking, and he managed to force down the potion with the Headmaster's help. It seemed to take ages for the basin to be drained and when it had been, Raiden took the locket and handed it to Dumbledore before collapsing on the ground, shivering. He barely felt Dumbledore lift him up, nor did he remember much of the journey back to Hogwarts. He slid into unconsciousness in the Infirmary minutes after arriving back in the school.

Snape had run all the way to the Infirmary when he heard what Dumbledore had done. 'Forcing the boy to drink that type of potion, what was he thinking' he snarled to himself, shuddering as he imagined Voldemort's reaction. He had known of Voldemort's instructions to Raiden and also knew that the Dark Lord would not look kindly on his apprentice's disobedience, however unwilling it had been. Hurriedly he forced the antidote down the unconscious sixth year's throat and prayed that Raiden would be alright and then quickly wrote a note to Voldemort, explaining the situation, hoping that the Dark Lord would accept it.

It was a tense night for the Avengers, they'd heard what Dumbledore had forced Raiden to do and they all hated him for it. Even Hermione, who normally revered the Headmaster, was heard to mutter in the Slytherin common room that she hoped he choked on his lemon drops. Fawkes too, seemed annoyed with him and hadn't left Raiden's bedside, trilling soothingly to the young wizard whenever he stirred and singing him back to sleep.

Three days later, the day before the students were due to leave for the Christmas holidays, Raiden awoke. He was momentarily disorientated, and then his eyes focused on Daphne, who was sitting by his bed, and then the rest of the Avengers, and Snape who were all seated round him.

"Hi guys" he said in a hoarse voice. Daphne immediately gave him a glass of water and once he'd drunk it he felt better. "Thanks" he said more normally.

"What went wrong Harry? We've heard what happened, but why did you allow it?" Draco asked, his eyes shining with worry for his brother.

Raiden shrugged. "I tried to argue but he's Albus bloody Dumbledore, you think I had any chance of refusing him without blowing my cover? I'm fine; it didn't do any lasting damage."

The students felt the tingling sense of magic enclose them as Snape put up a privacy ward. "You're fine now Mr Potter, but how fine are you going to be when the Dark Lord hears of this? You know he cares about you, as much as he can care about anyone that is."

Raiden winced. "I know, but he'll let me explain, and hopefully he won't curse me too much. When do we leave for Christmas?"

"Tomorrow" Hermione said, and Raiden looked at her. She looked awful, like she hadn't slept at all recently. Looking more closely at her, he noticed that her hand was holding Blaise's and neither of them seemed to mind.

"Something you want to tell me?" he enquired, nodding at the joined hands. He smirked when both Hermione and Blaise blushed slightly. "We're not together yet, he's trying to see if he can get me to fall in love with him" Hermione said, staring at Raiden slightly defiantly.

Raiden shrugged. "Hey, I don't have a problem with it. Congratulations and all that. Go for it. Um, where's Nora?"

"In the common room, we didn't want to do that thing we discussed yesterday here in case of prying eyes and ears" Draco responded, before punching Raiden none too gently in the shoulder.

"Ouch! Dray you prat! What was that for?" Raiden snarled, rubbing his shoulder.

Draco growled. "That was for scaring the life out of us you idiot, and for the thought that we might have to watch the Dark Lord curse you for disobeying him and not be able to interfere. We still haven't forgotten second year you know."

Raiden leant back against his pillows with a sigh. "I know. But I can talk to him in private; I can say that my friends won't take it well if he curses me in public. He's reasonable like that, it'll be OK."

"He curses the Death Eaters in front of each other all the time though" Blaise pointed out. Raiden smirked. "Yes he does. But you forgot one thing, we're not Death Eaters. I'm his apprentice, and you're my group, not his, therefore you don't come to general meetings. He will meet with all of us as a full group at New Year's, to discuss our aims for the rest of our time at Hogwarts. As seventh years next year we'll be perfectly placed to start spreading our network larger and start turning people against Dumbledore, making them see that our plan for the wizarding world is far better than his. We have our people in key positions in the Ministry already, poised to act at the right time, and our new policies as it were are ready to be made public, again at the right time. Everything is falling into place."

The Avengers all gave various versions of a smile as they realized that what Raiden was saying was true. They then quietly left him to sleep, Daphne leaning down to kiss him as she left, all of them thinking about their upcoming meeting with Voldemort which would be the first full meeting of the Avengers, albeit without Sirius as he was still trapped in limbo behind the Veil in the Department of Mysteries.

At Riddle Manor, Voldemort had received the note and was thinking about the current condition of his apprentice. He wasn't happy that Raiden had technically disobeyed him; however he could see that Raiden hadn't had much choice. Sighing, he decided to let it go, Raiden hadn't had a choice, and it gave both of them more reason to hate Dumbledore, as well as more ammunition for the degrading of Dumbledore's reputation in the eyes of the public when their plans were unveiled.

Up in Dumbledore's office, Fawkes trilled quietly. The phoenix could sense that the world was changing, and that the changes revolved round the young wizard that he'd taken a liking to. One thing was certain – Fawkes wouldn't allow Dumbledore to hurt his "fledgling" again.


	40. Chapter 40

**Chapter Forty: Christmas and Meetings**

Raiden and Draco both smiled as they got off the Hogwarts Express to see Lucius and Narcissa waiting for them. Daphne's parents were with them and both sets of parents were smiling as Daphne linked her arm with Raiden's and then lifted her left hand, showing the engagement ring.

"Congratulations" Lucius said quietly to Raiden, who merely beamed at him, forgetting his Slytherin mask for the moment. There was nowhere in the either the Slytherin code of conduct, nor the Dark Lord's handbook that mentioned not being happy at being engaged.

"Thanks" he replied, before kissing Daphne, not minding in the least that he was doing it in front of her parents. Daphne's father looked about to object before his wife elbowed him in the ribs discreetly. Draco just rolled his eyes and put his arm round Nora, who had come up to stand with him.

Nearby, Blaise was introducing Hermione to his parents, and then she introduced him to hers. Their parents looked to be happy too, although Draco and Raiden couldn't hear what they were saying. After a few minutes, Blaise and Hermione separated, but not before hugging each other. Raiden was amused to note that the hugs seemed to be more natural and were losing the awkward edge that had been there in the beginning.

"See you on New Year's guys" he called out, receiving waves of acknowledgement from Hermione and Blaise as they left. Raiden kissed Daphne one more time and made a promise to have her visit on New Year's. Raiden and Draco then followed Lucius and Narcissa to their limo, sighing as they got in the back. As soon as they'd got underway, Lucius pinned Raiden with a stern look.

"Exactly what happened with that Horcrux retrieval Harry? Severus owled us about it, and the Dark Lord wants to talk to you too."

Raiden winced and looked towards Narcissa, only to find that no help would be coming from her at the moment. Looking at Draco he saw that his brother was smirking at him, obviously enjoying watching him squirm.

"I was caught in a situation I couldn't get out of" he said. "It's true!" he snapped, on seeing the disbelieving looks directed at him. "Look, Voldemort and I both thought that Dumbledore wouldn't risk having me drink that potion but we were wrong. He thought that it would be better for me to drink the potion as he could defend us better if anything happened. I wasn't given a choice and I couldn't do anything. Alright?"

Lucius and Narcissa exchanged a glance and then leaned forward, hugging Raiden tightly. "OK. We were just worried, as was the Dark Lord. You should have seen him Harry, pacing round the living room, snarling about killing Dumbledore in the slowest manner possible when the time comes. He was really worried about you."

Raiden relaxed into the embrace of his adoptive parents. "I know. You know, given that the ritual which brought him back was a familial one, technically he's part of the family."

His parents looked startled at this and then laughed when Draco snorted and said, "Yeah, because he shares your blood, he could be your father Harry."

Raiden leant back against the seat. "Oh Merlin Dray, can you imagine that. Voldemort as my father." Looking more serious he considered the situation and then smiled. "Then again, he'd actually be a good father, if he learnt to ground me rather than cursing me when I piss him off."

The driver of the limo was completely oblivious to the laughter that was coming from his passengers, thanks to a silencing charm. Once they'd recovered from the hilarity, Lucius wiped his eyes and said, "Maybe I should suggest it to him."

More hilarity ensued until Raiden sat up and commented, "No, I like him as my Master, but I don't want to lose you two as parents. Oh, I forgot, has he told you about the Avengers' first meeting on New Year's?"

Lucius and Narcissa both nodded and the rest of the trip passed in silence, punctuated by the occasional conversation about the school year so far. Lucius was quite pleased at the fact that Hermione was slowly becoming more and more a part of the Dark Side, and didn't seem to mind. She was the one who had thought up recent modifications to Voldemort's new policies regarding Muggleborns, and had done some research on Muggleborns and Squibs. The research wasn't yet complete but had already yielded startling results which the Dark Lord planned to bring up at the meeting on New Year's Eve.

When they got home they found they had a visitor. Voldemort rose from the sofa as the family entered and strode towards Raiden, wand out. Raiden gulped but stood his ground, sensing that his master wasn't angry with him.

As soon as he reached Raiden, Voldemort did something that had the Malfoy family's jaws hitting the floor – he pulled Raiden into a hug, before letting him go and running his wand up and down in the air in front of Raiden. Raiden recognized the diagnostic scan for what it was – it was the same spell that Madam Pomfrey used in the Hospital Wing.

While Voldemort was busy reassuring himself that his apprentice was fine and unharmed, Raiden had a wicked idea. With a small smirk he quietly whispered "Cluuck, cluck cluck cluck," imitating a hen. Narcissa heard this and smacked the back of his head, drawing chuckles from Lucius and Draco. Voldemort also heard but chose to ignore it, amused at the fact that Narcissa had smacked Raiden and his apprentice had done nothing to retaliate. If it had been anyone else he would have.

"I just wanted to see you before our meeting on New Year's Raiden, both to see for myself that you were all right and also to tell you that I expect all the Avengers to show up at the Manor in their cloaks, and use their Avenger names while around the other Death Eaters" Voldemort said once he'd sat down on the sofa in the living room.

Raiden eyed Voldemort curiously. "Is there going to be a full Death Eater meeting as well as the Avenger one then?" he asked.

Voldemort nodded. "Yes, although only you will be attending the Death Eater one. The rest of the Avengers will wait in the study, while the main meeting is conducted. I also want to ask, have you noticed any changes in your magic lately?"

Raiden frowned. "I've felt it increasing a bit; it surges up and down like a tide when I do any spells now. It's odd; it rises when I'm casting spells and then recedes when I'm not. Is that normal?"

Lucius was the one to answer this. "Yes Harry it is. It's a sign that your magic is getting ready for its maturity around your seventeenth birthday. I know it's a fair way away yet but the signs sometimes start early. Actually, the earlier the signs start appearing, the more powerful the wizard."

Voldemort nodded in agreement. "Yes. My own maturity signs started appearing several months before it actually happened as well. It's nothing to be worried about."

"Although we might have to find a secure room while you undergo it" Narcissa remarked, which had Voldemort, Lucius and Raiden staring at her in bewilderment, although in Voldemort's case it was quickly hidden.

"Why is that?" Raiden asked.

Narcissa smiled. "Because your magic will fix any, shall we say, physical deficiencies, in order for the magic to work better. Your full magical potential will make your body into what it needs to be in order to contain the magic safely."

"Oh" Raiden said, vaguely worried. Seeing this the adults smiled, or rather, Narcissa smiled while Voldemort and Lucius both smirked. "Don't worry Raiden, it's nothing to be alarmed about. You'll probably be asleep while this is happening anyway. If not, then it still isn't anything to fret over. Every wizard and witch goes through it."

Raiden nodded and firmly shoved it to the back of his mind. He remembered the lessons with Dumbledore and smirked. "Oh Master?" he said with an innocent smile which didn't fool Voldemort for a second.

"Yes Raiden" Voldemort said warily. Raiden smirked at him. "I think Fawkes has taken a liking to me. He certainly wasn't pleased with Dumbledore after that incident with the fake Horcrux and he stayed with me most of the time when I was in the hospital wing. What do you think the chances are of us having a phoenix on our side?"

Voldemort looked thoughtful. "I have no idea. It is possible that if you can convince Fawkes that you're siding with me for the betterment of the wizarding world then he might stay with you, however he is Dumbledore's companion and as such, has a certain amount of loyalty to the old coot."

There was a flash of flame just above Voldemort's head and Fawkes dropped onto his shoulder.

_Not as much as you might think Tom _the phoenix trilled, making sure that he could be understood by the humans, all of whom were in shock. Finally Raiden recovered enough to ask, "Fawkes, what are you doing here and are you going to tell Dumbledore?"

The phoenix flew to Raiden and trilled softly, soothing the momentary distress he'd sensed. _No young fledgling, I will not tell Dumbledore. As for what I'm doing here, I came to help you. I know that Tom is not truly evil, if it hadn't been for Dumbledore and Tom's upbringing I could have helped him instead of watching as he slid into Darkness._

"I thought Phoenixes were drawn to the Light though – I'm grey at best" Raiden said, utterly confused. Fawkes trilled the phoenix equivalent of a laugh. _Yes but even I can see that you and Tom working together is better than my companion's idea of the ideal world. Your ideas will bring Light and Dark back into balance, which is something that Dumbledore has long forgotten. Besides, you have enough Light in you for me to be able to help. Your intentions are good, young fledgling, even if others won't see it that way, at least at first. _

"So you're helping us because you think that Raiden is going to bring magic back into balance, and you're conveniently ignoring the fact that he's a Dark Lord in training because you think that his overall purpose is more important" Voldemort asked.

Fawkes sang a few notes and then flew to Voldemort once more. _My fledgling might be a Dark Lord in training Tom, but through his influence, you could very well be described as a Light wizard in training. _

Fawkes then vanished in a flash of flame before Voldemort could react to what was to him, a grave insult. "Light-wizard-in-training, well I never" he growled as he prepared to Apparate back to Riddle Manor, while Raiden was doing his best to stifle the laughter that was threatening to escape at the look on his master's face at the Light wizard comment.

"I'll see you all on New Year's" Voldemort growled just before he disapparated. Once he'd gone, Draco and Raiden looked at each other and then collapsed on the sofa howling with laughter.

"Did you see his face?" Raiden questioned, before holding his ribs as laughter overtook him once more. Draco wiped tears from his eyes and gasped "Fawkes better be careful, I don't think our Lord is going to forgive that."

Raiden nodded helplessly, "Light wizard indeed, no one could ever describe my master as that. Oh, Fawkes was brilliant!"

The chuckles subsided as their stomachs rumbled. Looking at each other they blushed before turning hopefully to Lucius and Narcissa. "Any chance of dinner?" they chorused.

The week between Christmas and New Year's Eve passed quickly. Presents were exchanged on Christmas, with the other Avengers getting their presents via owl. On New Year's Eve, Raiden and Lucius Apparated to Riddle Manor and waited by Voldemort's throne in the meeting hall, while the other Avengers waited somewhat nervously in Voldemort's study for the main Death Eater meeting to be concluded.

"Good evening my loyal Death Eaters" Voldemort hissed. The Death Eaters all bowed nervously, and Raiden suppressed a snort. Yes his master was somewhat unnerving to be around when he was like this but really; the level of fear in the room was unbelievable. He shifted position quietly, and surveyed the room's occupants, quietly slipping into their minds at random, seeking out any that were disloyal.

He had almost finished his mental sweep when his danger sense kicked in. One of the younger Death Eaters stepped forward, aimed his wand at Voldemort and shouted, "_AVADA KEDAVRA!_" The Death Eaters ducked for cover, while Voldemort stared at the green light headed his way.

It never reached him as suddenly Raiden was in front of him. His sword, the one that he'd enchanted with charms to repel any magical spells that were thrown at him, appeared in his hand. The young Dark Lord deflected the deadly curse up into the ceiling and then froze the would-be assassin in his tracks.

His voice was soft, but filled with menace as he hissed, "Come here."

The recruit, whose name Raiden couldn't remember trembled as he walked forwards. He was aware that he was walking to his death but also knew that it would probably be a long time coming. Not many among the Death Eaters were privileged to know much about the Dark Lord's apprentice, although rumors that he was far more cruel and creative than the Dark Lord in terms of punishment had filtered down to the lower ranks. When the death of Bellatrix Lestrange had become common knowledge the lower minions had shivered in fear.

"Why did you just attempt to kill our Lord?" Raiden questioned softly, his tone one of complete authority but still menacing. The recruit shivered in fear. "I was told to my Lord" he finally stammered out.

Raiden considered this and then tilted his head to one side. "What's your name?" he enquired. The recruit shivered more violently and then finally said, "Yaxley."

Raiden smirked. "Well Yaxley, did you know that attempting to kill your Lord and master would result in death?" Yaxley trembled but bowed his head. "Yes my Lord. I'm sorry, I was under a compulsion spell, I didn't.."

"Save it!" Raiden snapped, his patience gone. Ruthlessly he tore through Yaxley's mind, seeking the truth of the matter. What he found enraged him although he controlled it before he did something like blowing up the room.

Freezing the unfortunate Yaxley in place with a _Petrificus _charm he turned to Voldemort who had recovered from his shock and was quietly amused and also proud of the way that Raiden was handling the affair. _Master, what should we do now? Yaxley has to die, I know that, but should we kill him now in front of the others as a warning, or should we do it in private?_

Voldemort considered the question carefully before replying, _Kill him now, but be sure to tell the rest of our followers the exact reason for his death. After all, punishment isn't much use if they don't know the exact reason for it in the first place. Was he a Ministry spy?_

_No Master, he was placed under a compulsion by an Unspeakable though, which one I don't know. We need to strengthen our follower's resistance to Imperius or other forms of compulsion, what would you have done if I hadn't been here?_

Voldemort was a bit exasperated at Raiden's assumption that he couldn't have taken care of the matter but secretly the Dark Lord was also rather shocked at his apprentice's level of concern and caring for him. What caused him even more consternation was the fact that the feelings of care and concern were reciprocated – he had somehow come to care for Raiden a lot more than just as his master. Shaking his head he hissed, _Really Raiden, I would have dealt with it, it was just that you moved so fast I didn't have time to do so. _Softening his tone a bit, although it wasn't obvious to any other Death Eater except Lucius he added, _I do appreciate your concern for my well being though, and, - _he hesitated and then decided to take the plunge, his image as a scary Dark Lord was well and truly shot to pieces with Raiden and his group anyway – _I care about you too._

Raiden was stunned, he'd never thought that his concern for his master would be reciprocated, that hug at Malfoy Manor notwithstanding. Yet here his master was, admitting that he cared about Raiden in front of all his Death Eaters. Granted, only he and Voldemort could understand Parseltongue so it wasn't as though Voldmort was ruining his image in any way in front of them but still, it was startling.

Seeing Raiden's state of shock Voldemort scowled and hissed, _Get back to work and finish off the traitor, we can discuss my moment of weakness later! _He was faintly disturbed by his apprentice's smirk and the quiet hiss of _It's not weak to admit you love someone Master_ as Raiden turned to face Yaxley.

"You have done something unforgivable Yaxley, you attempted to murder the man you swore allegiance to. For that crime, the only punishment is death. The sentence will be carried out now, but death for you, will be a fairly painful experience.

The Death Eaters were then treated a show of creative cruelty that left even the most hardened of them fighting to retain their dinners. Raiden didn't use the Unforgivables, instead he used a good variety of other Dark spells, as well as Healing spells to leave his victim in a sorry state. Voldemort was rather amused to see that Raiden was using some of the same spells that he'd used on Raiden as a punishment once, when Raiden was disputing being taught by Bellatrix.

Finally Raiden got tired of Yaxley's screams and silenced him with a silencing spell. "Now traitor, it is time for you to die" he said coldly, before he summoned up all the magical energy he could and let it fly from his fingers once more. What had happened as an accident with Bellatrix, Raiden had turned into a useful weapon. When Yaxley was shaking on the floor, his nerves fried by the magical electricity and literally steaming, Raiden rolled his eyes.

"Pathetic" he hissed as he levitated Yaxley off the floor and then used what he'd come to call his "Darth Vader trick", that being silently, and wandlessly, choking his victims to death. The Death Eaters watched all this in silence, many of them shaking, a few of the younger ones turning away and vomiting throughout the procedure. When Yaxley was finally dead Raiden surveyed the silent room.

"Now you all know the price of betrayal. See that you learn this lesson well, or else it might be you suffering that torment."

He stepped back behind Voldemort after cremating the body. His _Incendio _charm was so strong that the body vaporized almost instantly, causing the Death Eaters to gape at his power. Voldemort raised an eyebrow and Raiden shrugged.

_Power spike? _he offered. Voldemort shook his head. _We will discuss this later my young apprentice, it would seem that your powers are growing more quickly than I anticipated._ Raiden nodded and waited quietly while Voldemort quickly finished the meeting and dismissed the Death Eaters. As they left, Voldemort nodded to Severus and the Potions Master nodded back, he would report the evening's events to Dumbledore, along with Raiden's name and how powerful the apprentice seemed to be.

Once the Death Eaters had been dismissed, Voldemort and Raiden walked to Voldemort's study where they found the Avengers resting somewhat uneasily in various chairs. Daphne hugged Raiden when she spotted him, Raiden returning the hug enthusiastically. He also greeted Hermione, Blaise and Draco, before he spotted Remus. He hugged the werewolf, and then turned to introduce him to Voldemort.

"Master, I don't think you've ever been formally introduced to my companion here. This is Remus Lupin, also known as Moony, and was a friend of my parents and also Sirius. Moony, this is my master, Lord Voldemort, although he's really not as scary as the media portray him as. Why just before in the meeting he revealed his true feelings for me!"

He gave Voldemort a rather shy smile at this, causing the Avengers to snort in laughter, and Remus to shake his head in amusement. Voldemort narrowed his eyes, well aware that Raiden was making a joke at his expense.

"Unless you want your friends to witness my creative ways of punishing you Raiden I would suggest you modify your current behavior, am I clear?" he asked mildly. His tone might have been mild but the underlying message was clear and Raiden sobered immediately. "Yes Master" he replied and sat down next to Daphne.

Voldemort sat at the head of the table and surveyed the group before him. "Well. This is the first official meeting of the Avengers. The only member we are missing is Sirius Black and we will be seeing him again at the end of the year. So, to business. Have any of you got anything you wish to discuss?"

The Avengers were silent, all of them nervous to some degree about speaking in front of Voldemort. Finally Raiden grew tired of the silence and spoke. "Athena, didn't you have some research you wanted to tell us about?" he asked. Hermione jumped and blushed but drew out some notes from her bag.

"Yes I did" she said, coughing slightly. Once her notes were organized she looked down at them and then up at the table. "I was doing some preliminary research and it seems to indicate that most so called Muggle-born witches and wizards usually have a squib or full witch or wizard in their family tree somewhere along the line. Most muggle born witches and wizards are either descended from squibs that have been cast out by their families and adopted new names in the Muggle world, or they are the result of two aforementioned squibs marrying and procreating. If we want the wizarding world to remain secret from the Muggle one then we need to create some sort of charm to protect our existence."

"What do you mean Miss Granger?" Voldemort asked, interested.

Hermione looked at him and then lowered her eyes again. "I mean a charm to place on the families of those Muggle born witches and wizards to ensure that they can never speak of magic outside their immediate family, not to cousins, aunts, uncles, no one. Also, have a sort of magical aptitude test and only allow the strong ones to come to Hogwarts. The weaker ones could have their magic bound and essentially be squibs."

"That is one alternative but wasn't there another?" Voldemort asked. Hermione nodded. "Yes sir. The other one is to do a sort of exchange. Magical children born to Muggles are swapped with squibs."

"Hmm. They would look different from their parents though, if it was a simple swap" Remus put in thoughtfully.

Draco shook his head. "Yes I agree but if some sort of potion was worked out which essentially gave each child the DNA of their adoptive parents there would be no difference. The parents would go home happy – the magical parents have a child who is magical, and the Muggles go home, Obliviated, and with a non-magical child."

Daphne interjected with, "Yes and if another potion was developed to give every magical couple the guarantee that their child or children would be magical then in time there would be no more "Muggle born" witches or wizards to swap, and no more squibs. Then the Wizarding world could completely hide from the Muggle one."

"No it couldn't" Raiden suddenly said. He'd been listening to the discussion and thought the second idea was probably the best one all round but there was still a problem. "There are several problems. First, we still have to use Platform Nine and Three Quarters, plus Diagon Alley, not to mention the Ministry visitor entrance. Also, who do you think makes the thousands of cauldrons we use for Potions and the plants, and materials for clothing? Like it or not we still have to maintain some contact with the Muggle world, for the supplies they have that we don't. We just have to rework it so there's no suggestion of magic."

"Well those supply issues can be worked out, all that's needed is to just sort out who knows what and make sure that if the workers know about magic that they can't repeat it to anyone. Maybe that charm idea could be used" Blaise offered.

Raiden nodded thoughtfully. "I suppose, seeing that this issue hasn't been a problem for years that it will continue to run itself, yes?" he queried.

Voldemort nodded. "Yes Raiden it will. The farmers, cauldron makers and so on are aware of our world but they are sworn to secrecy. Actually, the farmers aren't aware of our world at all, they just think that we're very good customers and don't think of anything else. The cauldron makers are usually squibs but again, they don't resent that fact so this worry about the minimal contact we have to have with the Muggle world is a minor one."

Raiden nodded. "Very well then. I was thinking that when we restructure the Hogwarts education system, we leave everything pretty much as is, just with a few additions and improvements. We have a Dark Arts class added to the curriculum, available to sixth and seventh years that show sufficient mastery of Defence Against the Dark Arts, we modernize Muggle Studies and make it compulsory for every wizard raised child from third year to fifth. After fifth year they can drop it if they wish but they should learn how much Muggles have managed to advance in recent years with technology. Divination will be scrapped – if a student, or students should truly have the gift then it will be arranged that a true Seer will teach them to use their gift, but it will not be offered as a proper class anymore."

"What about physical fitness?" Remus asked.

Raiden brightened. "Draco was looking into that" he replied and all attention focused on Draco, who blushed under the intense gazes.

"Right" he coughed. "I was thinking that for wizards to be able to use their full magical potential they need to keep fit. So I was thinking maybe we ought to have some more fitness related activities rather than just flying and Quidditch. Fencing is a good example, as is martial arts."

"Isn't martial arts a Muggle thing?" Blaise enquired. Draco shook his head stiffly. "Apparently not. Wizards developed it, and then the Muggles observed them practicing one day and stole the idea, gradually developing their own styles. We won't do all of their styles, just the basics. It's a very good idea to be able to fight without your wand, as well as being able to run for a reasonable distance before becoming winded."

"What about wandless magic?" Remus asked.

The Avengers shared a grin and then wandlessly levitated their chairs, with Raiden levitating Voldemort and Remus as well. "Yes Moony. Wandless magic will be another class, an elective, as we're hoping to find more students with the ability. Everyone actually has the ability but we're taught to use wands from an early age and all too soon they become a crutch for us and we become helpless without them, in terms of using magic. Accidental magic we do as children is wandless, the only difference between it and something like we're all displaying now is that accidental magic is largely unfocused and undirected whereas this is very focused and direct. The only real focused and direct use of wandless magic in use today is the Animagus spell, which is why it's so difficult to accomplish, as wizards are unfamiliar with using magic without a wand.

Remus nodded. "I can see that Raiden, would you mind coming down now? I don't quite like it up here." Raiden smirked and lowered Remus down to the ground, followed by Voldemort and then himself. The rest of the Avengers followed his lead and soon all the chairs were back where they belonged.

The rest of the meeting went well, and at the end Voldemort walked over to Hermione. "Miss Granger, may I have a word in private?" he asked. Hermione looked unsure but nodded. "OK sir" she said hesitantly. Voldemort led her over to the fire and sat down, inviting her to take a seat as well. Once she'd done so she found herself under a penetrating gaze.

"Why do you seem so nervous around me Hermione?" Voldemort queried softly. "Surely you know that I'm not about to hurt you? Raiden would never permit it and I find myself intrigued by your intelligence. I was once described as Dumbledore's most brilliant student and you are the only one that really comes close to matching my accomplishments."

Hermione looked startled. "My Lord, Raiden is about as academic as I am, we constantly compete for the top spots in classes. I know you're not going to hurt me, but I'm concerned about my parents. What if a Death Eater were to go after them?"

"That won't happen. The Death Eaters know better than to defy me and launching an attack without permission is considered defiance. Besides, after tonight, all I'll have to do is threaten to let Raiden loose on them and they'll be too terrified to step out of line."

Hermione raised a questioning eyebrow. Voldemort smiled grimly. "One of the lower level Death Eaters was overcome by a compulsion spell from an Unspeakable earlier today and tried to kill me tonight. Raiden deflected the spell he used into the ceiling and then tortured and killed him as a warning to the others that he didn't take attacks on me very kindly. After his little display even the most hardened of my followers were looking a little green around the gills."

Hermione swallowed, she didn't need the details of what had happened to the unfortunate Death Eater, her imagination, as well as her reading about the Dark Arts and her knowledge of Raiden's personality and relationship with the Dark Lord were enough to let her figure out some of what must have happened. She looked up when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Relax Hermione; you and the rest of the Avengers are safe here. None of my Death Eaters will touch any of you, that's why you came here dressed in the cloaks and masks, the Death Eaters will not touch anyone wearing that uniform. Now, are you alright?" Seeing her nod, Voldemort smiled and gently pulled her to her feet. "Let's go back to the others before my apprentice comes over here to ensure that I'm not molesting you or anything."

Hermione chuckled at that and smiled back. Really, everyone portrayed Voldemort as a heartless bastard, and deep down she knew that he could still be very cruel when he wanted to be. In this setting however, he seemed to be restraining that particular aspect of himself.

"I do so because it wouldn't do to have the lot of you quivering in fear like most of my Death Eaters. Plus, I figure my reputation as a Dark Lord is shot to hell with all of you anyway so I can relax a bit, I know you won't give it away" Voldemort commented as they walked over to Raiden and Draco. Hermione looked at him, startled.

"Did you read my mind my Lord?" she asked.

Voldemort shook his head. "No, your surface thoughts were practically being shouted to anyone with sufficient Legilimency skills to pick up on them." Hermione blushed and Raiden chuckled as he dropped an arm round her shoulders.

"Don't worry Mione, he's done that to me loads of times" he reassured her. He then gave her a sly grin and said in a slightly louder tone. "Dray, do you remember that conversation we had in the car on the way home from King's Cross?"

Draco thought for a minute and then his eyes gleamed, practically daring Raiden to do it. Raiden accepted the dare and turned to Voldemort, who had narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"What is it Raiden?" Voldemort asked. Raiden gave him an innocent smile.

"Nothing. I was just thinking that that ritual that brought you back, it made us family of a sort yes?" Voldemort slowly nodded and then was shocked out of his wits when Raiden stepped forward and hugged him.

"Glad to have finally found you Dad" Raiden said impishly as he released his master, who was recovering from his shock.

Seeing the stunned faces of everyone around them, and the gleam in Raiden's eyes, Voldemort slowly ran a finger down his wand. "You have thirty seconds to start running, apprentice, before I do something drastic, like removing various body parts" he said ominously, nodding towards Raiden's wand hand. Raiden squeaked and ran, reaching the door and running through it seconds before a volley of hexes followed him. The Avengers heard him yelp as several hexes followed him down the corridor and made contact, but they were too busy laughing to do anything to help.

When Raiden finally returned he was met by gales of laughter as around his neck sat a collar with "Property of Lord Voldemort" on it and he was dressed in Gryffindor red and gold. Glaring at his master he tugged at the collar. "Get it off!" he snarled, glaring at Voldemort.

The Dark Lord raised an eyebrow. "Only if you apologise for what you did earlier" he said.

Raiden sighed but obeyed. "I humbly apologise for my earlier actions and I won't repeat them ever again" he said. Voldemort smirked and with a flick of his wand the collar vanished and the Gryffindor colors faded.

"I quite like being your Master, you impertinent brat but I'm hardly father material" was Voldemort's dry comment as Raiden said goodbye to his friends. An absent nod and reply of "Yes but it was funny" was the only reaction he got. Daphne was the last to leave, and they shared a long hug and a kiss at the fireplace.

"See you at Hogwarts" was Daphne's parting comment. Raiden merely nodded, kissed her one last time and returned to Voldemort's side, where they spent the rest of the evening finalizing plans, and starting to hammer out the rough idea of how to deal with separating the Muggle and Wizarding worlds for good.


End file.
